Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond formally directed the Big 12 Conference on Friday to sanction Texas Tech University over its intent to field quarterback Brendan Sorsby. The legal intervention escalates an unprecedented jurisdictional crisis triggered on Monday when a Texas district court granted Sorsby a temporary injunction, shielding him from a permanent NCAA ban for wagering $90,000 on sports.
Drummond’s directive directly challenges earlier warnings from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who threatened the conference with antitrust and breach-of-contract lawsuits if it penalized the university. In his letter, Drummond defended Oklahoma’s vested interest in the integrity of the league through member institution Oklahoma State University, dismissing Paxton’s antitrust claims as “facially absurd” and “meritless.”
Sorsby admitted to placing at least 40 bets on his own team during his freshman year at Indiana before completing in-patient treatment and transferring to Texas Tech. The ongoing standoff marks the first time a judge has forced a sports league to accept a player with a verified betting history of this magnitude.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark convened the league’s executive board on Thursday to evaluate their available legal options. A full board of directors meeting is scheduled for Monday to determine the conference’s official response.
The NCAA has formally filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas seeking to overturn the injunction. Meanwhile, the prospect of Sorsby returning to the field has triggered immediate institutional boycotts. The athletic departments at Georgia and Nebraska have instructed their officials to halt scheduling future games against Texas Tech, while the Big Ten conference has discussed implementing a similar scheduling freeze internally.