- 11 hours ago
Chris Level joined the GBAG Nation and discussed Brendan Sorsby’s historic court injunction and the expected fallout. Level evaluated how the legal victory alters the Red Raiders' season outlook, what this means for the NCAA's gambling policies moving forward, and more.
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00:00and a historic day across the nation.
00:04I think this story could reverberate for years to come
00:08and obviously in the immediate and short-term future,
00:11a massive impact on the world of college football out in Lubbock
00:15and the great state of Texas and the national championship picture.
00:19As Brendan Soarsby gets his injunction, he's going to be eligible.
00:22As Chris Level, Texas Tech radio and TV analyst,
00:26publishing editor for Red Raider Sports, joins you now here on The Fan.
00:30Good afternoon, Chris. How the heck are you?
00:34Well, I'm doing good, trying to process this like everybody else is.
00:39It's been eventful for sure in the last several weeks around here.
00:43Is he for sure going to play this fall?
00:45Or is there another appeal or something that's coming?
00:50I think this was it, guy.
00:51I think that he's going to miss the – the one caveat I would offer up
00:56is that he's – you know, part of the court order is that he's going to miss
01:00the two games, which is what Soarsby's – you know, his team proposed
01:07and the NCAA was said, no way.
01:10And now does Texas Tech come back and do they sit him for any longer than that
01:16or does the Big 12 – I mean, I think that's where we're at.
01:18But as far as like the legal part, I think it's done.
01:21I mean, I think that NCAA will appeal this, and I think that that timetable
01:29takes so long that any appeal would be heard after the football season is over.
01:35What are you seeing from your partners around the Big 12
01:38and the Big 12 itself as far as how much of a fit they might throw over this?
01:44Yeah, I mean, and there's a report out that, you know,
01:48that some of the athletic directors, I think Gene Taylor of Kansas State,
01:52was saying that he didn't think they were going to play Texas Tech in any sports
01:55or they were considering it.
01:58You know, to which I would say I find that – that's not reality, but I also find that interesting.
02:05I mean, Bill Self right there was – you know, he got caught cheating through Adidas
02:09and getting players when that was against the rules, and I guess Gene Taylor was okay with that.
02:15But this is just one that, you know, he's not willing to overlook.
02:18I don't know.
02:19I mean, there's going to be a lot of chatter.
02:20There – everybody's going to have an opinion.
02:22I think there's no doubt that Texas Tech is going to be – and Brendan Sorsby, too.
02:28They're going to be – the kid's going to have to have thick skin.
02:30I mean, you're going to get vilified.
02:31You're going to be – you're going to be the kind of poster child for everything that's wrong.
02:35But I'm also – you know, I just go back to – go back to December when Baylor signed a
02:42pro NBA player
02:43that had played on an NBA roster that was on a two-way deal and all that.
02:48I remember all the hubbub that that caused, and Tom Izzo, who was the face of the sport,
02:53was like, what are we doing?
02:54I mean, I was like, this is just – it's all broken.
02:57And then everybody's forgotten about that, and then this is the new thing.
02:59So I certainly get the angst and the people pointing at, you know,
03:06Brendan Sorsby and Texas Tech and integrity and all the things.
03:12But, yeah, it's certainly going to make for an interesting fall around here.
03:16There's no doubt about that.
03:18So for people that haven't been following this, Chris, can you kind of lay out how was Sorsby
03:23and his team really able to win this?
03:28So, okay, so originally this was a – you know, as you guys know,
03:34because you guys are talking Cowboys a lot, I mean, you know that the supplemental draft part of this thing
03:39was hanging out there.
03:41Okay, so with that in mind, knowing that that was really – it was kind of option A or option
03:46B for Brendan Sorsby.
03:48He was either going to try to regain his eligibility or off to the NFL if they allowed it.
03:53That's the way he was going to go.
03:54So a lot of, you know, Sorsby's legal team had already started the process
03:59before he was even deemed ineligible by the NCAA of, like, going through the court process
04:05because this is what you're having –
04:08what, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss and Alabama basketball recently?
04:13You just deal with it in court.
04:15And so this process was starting well before a lot of the ruling had come down and all that.
04:23Well, then we get the ruling, and then this injunction hearing was set.
04:26It was set for last Monday.
04:28Prior to that, though, the court that it had been assigned to in Lubbock County
04:34was a guy by the name of Phillip Hayes.
04:37He's a local judge, and he's a tech fan, and all this stuff started going viral and all that.
04:43Well, he recused himself.
04:45He didn't offer up any explanation.
04:47He just recused himself.
04:49And so this judge that heard this case last Monday here in Lubbock
04:55is actually from you guys' neck of the woods in Tarrant County.
04:58He has an undergraduate degree from UTA and a law school grad degree from University of Houston.
05:04So he was who was assigned to this case, and it lasted about three hours.
05:13And for multiple people that were there would tell you that Soresby's legal team,
05:20they had plenty of material and precedent and all these different things that they were arguing for
05:26and medical diagnosis and whatever.
05:28And again, we can all roll our eyes at some of this stuff, or we can buy into it.
05:32It's up to each person to determine what they want to do with it.
05:35And the NCAA basically had a very short case and was like, he broke the rules just because,
05:40you know, he's claiming mental illness or an addiction, and he's good at throwing a football.
05:45He shouldn't be allowed to play.
05:47And that was really the extent of it.
05:48They didn't dispute that he had a medical addiction or diagnosis.
05:55They didn't dispute that.
05:56They claimed, in their own words, there was no integrity jeopardized.
06:01And so everybody kind of walked away from that going, okay, I don't know how this judge is going to
06:05feel,
06:05but it's pretty clear that, like, Soresby's team did a much better job than the NCAA did.
06:11But everybody felt like, you guys have read it.
06:14I mean, I've read it, too.
06:15This is the Cardinal sin.
06:16You can't do this.
06:17You can't do the P. Rose thing.
06:19I mean, like, he's got no chance of winning it, but I guess he did.
06:23But that's what – so, and then to catch everybody up to today when we just get the ruling at,
06:28like, I think I got it at about 840 this morning that it had been granted,
06:32and then we were looking at, okay, what are the details?
06:34So he's got to go through, you know, repeated therapy.
06:38He's got to check in.
06:39He's got to – basically, it's the equivalent to being drug tested all the time.
06:43And then he's got to serve the two-game suspension.
06:47But that's where we're at.
06:48So I'm like you guys.
06:50I'm processing it and seeing all the reaction because it's been a wild day today.
06:54Hey, Chris, did you just immediately, when you heard the ruling, yell,
06:57hey, take that, you MFers?
06:59Did you do one of those?
07:02No.
07:03I mean, I'll be honest with you, guys.
07:05I just screamed.
07:06You were so happy for tech football.
07:08And I don't blame you.
07:09I do not blame you one bit for being happy for tech football.
07:14Yeah, it's just – there's some mixed feelings here.
07:18Just because it's a weird – he knowingly broke the rules.
07:22I certainly understand that.
07:23Did I fully grasp the – you know, because we all know people that are addicted.
07:30And what's weird is if it's drugs or alcohol, that's different than when it comes to gambling,
07:37according to the folks in the NCAA and their argument.
07:41And so I'm sure that he does have a problem.
07:44There's no disputing that.
07:45When you're betting on hot dog eating contests and Turkish rugby or whatever he was going on,
07:50he just – like, he was sick, you know?
07:52And that – yeah.
07:54But that – I mean, yeah.
07:56So I wasn't – I wasn't sure how to feel, if I'm being perfectly honest.
08:04Because I felt like, all along, anybody that was saying, oh, he's done, he'll never play again.
08:10Or if you were saying, he's going to play.
08:13I just don't think anybody could have felt good about their stance.
08:16Because we just weren't sure how this was going to rule.
08:19But, yeah.
08:19The NCAA is a very hypocritical organization.
08:22So from that standpoint, yeah, I think they have what's coming to them for sure.
08:26Chris Level, Red Raider Sports here with you on the fan.
08:30Do you believe after watching this play out that players on other teams can gamble on whatever they want
08:35and just keep right on playing?
08:36Does this set that precedent?
08:38I mean, it might.
08:40You know, I think that was part of – that was part of the argument that was heard in the
08:46courtroom last week
08:47was modernizing policy and catching up with the times.
08:52Look, every platform that all of us are on, FanDuel, DraftKings, I mean, you were right.
08:58You know, the NCAA's second biggest revenue generator behind the NCAA tournament
09:02is providing data for gambling purposes to a lot of these companies, okay?
09:08I mean, that cannot be disputed.
09:09And they want to come out of both sides of it.
09:13And so I didn't know what we were getting into.
09:16And as you guys know, there was a – they had actually made it legal for college players
09:22to bet on, like, professional sports, you know?
09:26I don't know if it was six months ago, if it was a year ago.
09:28And it was that way for a week or so.
09:31And then they tried to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
09:33And you're like, you know what?
09:34This is probably not a good idea.
09:35Let's not allow this.
09:36But for a brief period, they had no problem with it.
09:39These are grownups.
09:40They've got money.
09:41It's their money to spend.
09:42They're not breaking any laws.
09:44Nobody else is harmed.
09:45And, you know, and all that.
09:47So I don't know what – where we go from here and what is allowed and what's not.
09:53But I bet you're getting closer to modernizing some of this policy.
09:58And the one bugaboo here is that he bets on his own team for his team, mind you,
10:05when he was at Indiana.
10:06That's the one thing that people are pointing to.
10:09He didn't bet against his team.
10:10And he didn't participate in these games.
10:13That's one thing.
10:14And we've been wondering around here, and I think the first time I was on with you guys,
10:17did anything happen to Indiana or Cincinnati?
10:20Because he played every game for those two institutions that he was eligible for.
10:24And this activity went on at those places.
10:27So it's a wild precedent, and it certainly has startled the foundation of college athletics today for sure.
10:36Chris Level with us here on 105.3 The Fan.
10:38So if he had of, I think that's the big thing here,
10:42because you mentioned that they deemed that he did not go ahead and break the integrity of the game.
10:47So if this ends up being, well, he did bet against Indiana,
10:51does that totally change the way that this looks?
10:54Because I do think that that's got to be the fear to Gavin's question, right?
10:57This opens up a can of worms that kids can now just go ahead and bet on their own teams
11:01or against their own teams, and the NCAA has no leg to stand on.
11:06Yeah, I mean, this is all really interesting.
11:10I mean, I think the first time I talked to you guys, I mean, I told you,
11:14Texas basketball broadcasting, and there was multiple either stadiums or arenas
11:19that were sponsored by hotel and casinos in the Big 12 that I was in last year.
11:24I mean, they have the naming rights.
11:26I mean, it's just you can't get away from this stuff.
11:27So, and I'm not excusing it away, but if in the NCAA's words,
11:34they viewed his activity causing no integrity to any past, you know, games or contests,
11:41then that may have played into the judge's ruling.
11:43Had it been different, maybe we do get a different result here.
11:47That's the one thing I've learned about this ruling is that the judge didn't have to say,
11:52he didn't have to get into a lot of the details, okay, in the initial ruling today.
12:00The NCAA may push him for that and say, can you specifically cite the precedent
12:05or exactly why you ruled it this way?
12:07And that may be in the process of happening.
12:10But to this point, maybe you guys are onto something,
12:13but that's not the way it plays out.
12:15In the NCAA's words, no integrity was jeopardized.
12:17So, is Texas Tech just totally embracing being the bad guy
12:21and having everybody just kind of hate him?
12:22Are they relishing in this right now?
12:25They were probably already down that road a little bit before any of this happened
12:30just because they're, you know, they're the new guy
12:33and they're being transparent about what they're doing.
12:36And they got good.
12:37I mean, none of this happens if you're not winning.
12:40All of the college softball stuff happened a week ago.
12:43You got Steve Sarkeesian saying some things about your schedule and all that.
12:48If you're not winning, it doesn't matter.
12:50But this is a hell of a lot better than being irrelevant.
12:52I can tell you that for sure.
12:54So, are you expecting these guys to have another bounce-back season like Soresby plays?
12:58Like, just what's the status of the roster right now?
13:01So much turnover.
13:03Where's maybe some concern about the Texas Tech roster?
13:07Yeah, I know this is like a gambling conversation,
13:11but I think their over-under win total went up by like one-and-a-half to them today.
13:16Soresby's hitting me over here, Chris.
13:19Yeah, that's right.
13:19I've had to, like, work on my betting analogies throughout this whole thing.
13:24I'm like, is this poor form?
13:26Or, you know, I stopped saying roll the dice.
13:29Or, man, they're willing to, you know, whatever.
13:31But I think this is a top-ten team.
13:34There's no doubt about it.
13:35There's really the biggest question was going to be the quarterback, okay,
13:40with all this going on.
13:41And now it's not, really, unless you want to factor in, okay,
13:46how does Brendan Soresby handle this mentally?
13:49There's going to be a lot going on here.
13:50He's going to be treated differently.
13:52He's going to be yelled at.
13:53I mean, he's going to be hated.
13:54He's going to be the poster child for what's wrong.
13:57I mean, how does he handle all that?
13:58But as far as the roster on paper, they had nine guys drafted.
14:02And you guys do as good a job of anybody of covering the NFL draft.
14:07The NFL seems to think that this is a current team that may have more guys drafted
14:15than they just had.
14:18And they just had nine guys picked.
14:20Wow.
14:20So, I mean, they're left tackle.
14:23They're tied in.
14:24Now they're quarterback.
14:26They've got, you know, more than one linebacker.
14:29They've got a corner.
14:30They've got, you know, multiple defensive linemen.
14:33So it's pretty fascinating.
14:36But, you know, they'll be a bit of a favorite to win the Big 12.
14:40There's no doubt about that.
14:40And then we'll see now where they can go further.
14:42Because that's what Soresby did.
14:43But he provided you with a chance to maybe go further than you had last year
14:48and not just win the league and be happy about being in the CFP.
14:52Can you go win the whole thing?
14:54And now I think you have a legitimate chance if his mind is right.
14:59Good question from the 6-8-2 here, Chris.
15:01But, like, is Tech in danger if they still want to try and enforce something from this,
15:05if the Big 12 rallies?
15:07Like, is Tech possibly able to get punished or anything for the university here?
15:13I mean, and if they wanted to self-impose maybe more than two-game suspension on Soresby,
15:18could Soresby then sue Texas Tech?
15:20Are they even allowed to do that now legally?
15:24I think they can.
15:26Well, I need to read the fine print.
15:28But I will tell you that, to your point, like, it's in the ruling.
15:33It's stated.
15:34And I can send one of you guys the file so you can read the fine print.
15:37But it basically says, no, Texas Tech cannot be punished any further.
15:43Because, I mean, the one thing is that if there's a court ruling after next season and you do well,
15:49do you have to vacate all that?
15:50But basically the way that ruling reads is, like, you can't do anything to Texas Tech
15:55or any one of their opponents or anything.
15:58And it basically, it says that you have to let this player practice and play after the two-game suspension
16:05as long as he abides by, there was, like, five or six things he must do and continue to do,
16:10which is therapy.
16:11And, again, I mentioned the drug testing analogy.
16:14As long as he abides by that, then nobody can do it after the season is over.
16:19So I need to check on that to see if they can even self-impose.
16:24But they may be prohibited from doing that.
16:26But, yeah, the ruling was pretty clear there.
16:29Fantastic report, Chris.
16:30Appreciate your time here.
16:32And we'll look forward to catching up with you soon before the season starts.
16:36Hey, you boys be good.
16:37Appreciate you having me on.
16:38And keep hope alive out there.
16:40Salute.
16:40There he goes, Chris Level, Red Raiders Sports.
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