In a legal filing dropped on Monday, the Big 12 argued that Texas Tech itself, through its past actions, agreed that the conference has the authority to punish the Red Raiders if they play Brendan Sorsby this fall.
The 47-page filing cited precedent from nearly a decade ago, when the conference sanctioned Baylor for the sexual assault scandal that engulfed the Bears' football program and university. The conference claimed that the scandal damaged the Big 12 reputation, and that the league had the authority to fine Baylor as recourse.
At no time, the Big 12 argued Monday, did Texas Tech object to the conference asserting such authority back in 2017, and voted along with the conference to fine Baylor 25 percent of its conference revenue distribution, plus attorneys' fees. The total fine amounted to around $14 million. From the filing:
Following Judge Ken Curry's shocking decision to grant Sorsby an injunction despite the player's admission he bet 40 times on his own team at a past institution, the past week has evolved into a legal urinating contest to see who has the authority to decide what happens next.
Last Thursday, Texas Tech and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton filed a preemptive strike across the bow at the Big 12 with a threat that any sanctions would be met by legal action. The following day, Oklahoma's attorney general filed his own letter with the conference urging the Big 12 to take action, assuring them they had the legal authority to do so. Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach on Monday filed his own letter with the conference asserting the same. Prominent college sports attorney Tom Mars also urged the Big 12 to take action, pointing out that the Big 12's bylaws claim no obligation toward student well-being, which is the cudgel Sorsby's attorneys used to win their case against the NCAA.
The Big 12's argument is not the first time Texas Tech has found its current priority in conflict with its past actions and statements.
For one, TTU president Lawrence Shovanec appeared in a lengthy video published Thursday night acknowledging that he was part of a vote to make wagering on pro sports by college athletes an NCAA violation, after the organization had previously voted to decriminalize the act in an attempt to address a public-health crisis among college-aged males. Shovanec was among the bloc of voters to re-criminalize pro sports betting among college athletes, but now that his university's starting quarterback has been swept up in the issue, he has identified previously unseen nuance in the issue. "I think we have to recognize that the rules in place now were made long before there were millions of young people walking around with a legal gambling apparatus in our pocket," Shovanec said in the video. "Our consideration today needs to take into account a medically-diagnosed condition and the circumstances in which they live."
Elsewhere, athletics director Kirby Hocutt has said that Texas Tech was not party to Sorsby's lawsuit, and that welcoming him back to the football team was not an automatic admission that he would play in games. Texas Tech then hired Sorsby's attorneys -- notably Jeffrey Kessler -- to protect its legal interests in the event of sanctions from the Big 12, and Texas Tech refused the Big 12's request to not play Sorsby.
"During the week prior to filing this Complaint, TTU communicated its intent directly to the Conference to field Sorsby in Conference football games," the filing said. "Though TTU has been asked by both the Conference and many University Presidents, Athletic Directors, and other representatives of Big 12 Member Institutions to choose not to field Sorsby in Conference competitions, TTU has not agreed to such requests."
In the filing, the Big 12 indicated it would like the legal authority to issue monetary sanctions to Texas Tech and/or a ban on the Red Raiders competing in the Big 12 Championship in the event Sorsby plays in conference games. The filing said members are concerned that, even though a trial is not scheduled until February, even a retroactive ruling in the conference's favor would be damaging for the Big 12 if the Red Raiders won the conference title with an ineligible player.
As it stands today, the first game in which Sorsby is eligible to play is a Big 12 game against Houston on Friday, Sept. 18.