Apr. 29—***
Stop me when I write something that wasn’t uber-predicatble:
— Athlete with the potential for a rich name, image and likeness deal, decides to see what all the fuss is about with gambling.
— In an environment where the house always wins, the athlete loses more often than not.
— Sports media makes the problem only worse, with a barrage of services that offer easy access to gambling. Who knew that the link between access and athletes could lead to trouble? That would be everyone.
I am relieved that Texas Tech quarterback Brendon Sorsby, a touted transfer from Cincinnati, has taken a leave of absence from the team to enter a treatment program for gambling addiction. The next step is what we all should watch: how the NCAA and college football deal with Sorsby when he returns.
Hopefully, he didn’t cross any lines. The one you can’t recover from is any manipulation of the outcome of games. At any level. Get caught doing that and your career is done.
The biggest fear for college sports — and pros too — is that games are decided by less than an honest effort. Dropped pass here, untimely fumble there, in the wrong hands would be worth a bundle and potentially devastate the sports enterprise.
NIL and revenue sharing have actually made the shaving of points/fixing games less likely than before. Few would risk their lucrative deals for whatever smaller amount of money they were offered.
In the old days, before NIL, the idea that a late-in-their career player might fail on purpose for a big payday made more sense. But not now.
Check back in the history of sports and you will find gambling scandals. Not as many as you might think, but enough to make it a concern.
In some ways, the gambling industry helps police the contests. If too much money is wagered on an outcome, a red flag is raised and answers are sought. Often out of public view.
It is important that the NCAA allows athletes to come clean if they have a problem and get help without permanent damage to their careers.
I haven’t even mentioned the potential impact that has been done to the Texas Tech program, which is on the rise thanks to a willingness to spend in the transfer portal. The Red Raiders just made the College Football Playoff for the first time, where they were shut out in the quarterfinal round by Oregon.
Joey McGuire’s team had dreams of returning to the CFP in 2026 with Sorsby playing a vital role. We will have to wait to see if that is possible.
We a should all be watching and waiting.