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Sports networks condemn Brendan Sorsby for gambling while airing betting lines paid for by sportsbooks.

Gambling is now mainstream, with dedicated betting shows and player props running across daily coverage.

Young athletes now see their own over/unders and props, then face punishment for the temptation we created.

The networks that could name this hypocrisy stay silent because sportsbooks fund them.

Brendan Sorsby is headed for the NFL supplemental draft. The Texas Tech quarterback plans to apply just a week after a Texas judge handed him a temporary injunction on June 8 that briefly reopened his path to the Red Raiders' 2026 season. Within days, the backlash from coaches, conferences, and athletic directors grew loud enough that he withdrew his lawsuit and left college football entirely. He had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA, which found that he had placed roughly $90,000 in wagers across four years, including 40 bets on Indiana football during his freshman season with the Hoosiers. He had also gone through inpatient treatment for gambling addiction.

Debating Recovery and Criticism in Sports Gambling Cases

I wrote about Sorsby once before and argued that the field could offer the structure, routine, and accountability recovery needs. I still believe that. Today I want to talk about the people pointing fingers, because the loudest voices condemning him broadcast from studios paid for by the companies that sell the exact behavior he is being punished for.

The condemnation has been wrapped in the language of sanctity and integrity, and it has echoed everywhere. ESPN columnists wrote that protecting the integrity of competition is job one for any legitimate sports organization, while Fox outlets declared that integrity had left the building. TCU coach Sonny Dykes called the ruling a bad day for college football, then said the quiet part out loud. He admitted he worries his own players might now think it is fine to bet on football,........

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