'The rules are the rules' when it comes to Sorsby
Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss the latest in Brendan Sorsby's case to try and regain NCAA eligibility.
Video Transcript
Pft Live, Monday edition, June 1.
So, today is the day that Brendan Spears beat and his lawyers will go to court in an effort to get his eligibility restored with the NCAA.
Now, on one hand, Brendan Spears beat is a very sympathetic and/or empathetic figure, given that he came of age at a time when it's bet on this, bet on that, bet on this, pick up your phone, press a few buttons, get a little dopamine rush, and you're at an age where your brain hasn't fully developed, you don't understand and appreciate the connection between your behaviors and the long-term consequences, so you just keep going, and you keep going, and you keep going, and you keep chasing it.
On the other hand, the rules are the rules, and he knew or should have known what the NCAA rules were.
And the NCAA filed paperwork on Friday night that made it clear that Spears beat placed more than 40 bets on the Indiana football team when he was a member of the team.
And even though he didn't play in any of the games, he still was on the team, and he made bets on the team that he was playing for.
He had others, family members and friends, place bets on his behalf.
So he was aware that he was doing something he shouldn't do, and the bottom line is the NCAA believes he's not eligible to play college football.
And even though I am very sympathetic to the fact that an addiction was developed, one of the things I remember from practicing law, if you had somebody who had some sort of an addiction, alcoholism, drug abuse, whatever, certain accommodations are required if it counts as a disability, but you're not insulated against the consequences of the behavior.
The behavior is still something that the employer, in this case the NCAA, can take action against, and the rules are the rules, and he blatantly violated them.
So I understand where the NCAA's coming from.
You know, I'm, I'm wired to say the NCAA is wrong, because I think it's been an inherently corrupt organization for decades.
But in this case, I understand where they're coming from.
Yeah.
I'm, I'm with you.
Me too.
I, I, hear you there.
I mean, the rules are the rules here in this one.
Yeah, it's a little messed up, like you said, and it's such a big part of so- society that some of it seems a little bit hypocritical, I guess, to a degree.
But yeah, yeah, you knew the situation, and he certainly knew that what he was doing, he shouldn't be doing.
And now he's gonna have to wait and see.
And yeah, this is gonna be a big, you know, spot in his life to see where this goes.
Texas Tech, as we know, is a thriving college football program that they're, they got some big boosters, oil money, that are throwing out money to this, the, the sports program.
But at the same time, yeah, this could derail them and derail him, and he might be in the NFL before we know it.
Tom Brady called Texas Tech a glorified community college a couple weeks ago, so you may wanna check your facts on that.
Is that what he said?
I didn't I missed that.
I'm surprised that didn't get more play.
Wow.
Yeah.
He was joking.
Oh.
He was doing a commencement address at one of the Georgetown You know, they, they break it down into this school, that school, whatever.
It was a business school or whatever, and he, he made a crack about Texas Tech being a glorified- community college, so.
Uh- Yeah re- regardless- That's pretty good the standard for today in court isn't whether or not Brendan Spears beat has articulated a sufficient legal argument to win his case.
This is about whether or not he can satisfy a very high bar of getting the judge to say, "NCAA, you must restore his eligibility while the case goes forward."
Which means he's got one year left.
Like, the case isn't gonna be over, most likely.
We know how the wheels of justice can move.
It's not gonna be over by September 1.
Maybe it will.
Maybe they'll prioritize it and get a final ruling by then.
But part of what you have to show is you're likely to win when it's time to do the whole case.
That's what a, that's, that's It's, it's not easy to get a temporary or, as known in some jurisdictions, most jurisdictions, preliminary injunction.
That's what he's trying to get.
But I also think, Chris, the other side of this is to make sure the NFL doesn't mess with him.
Like, I, I think the lawsuit was filed to do two things.
One, to force the NCAA to make a decision while there was still time for Brendan Spears beat to apply for the supplemental draft.
Yeah.
Their concern was the NCAA was gonna drag their feet past June 22, and Spears beat can't apply to the NFL draft, and they don't let him come back and play.
I think the other purpose was to make sure the NFL doesn't try to do a Terrell Pryor to Brendan Spears beat.
Yeah.
Remember when he entered the supplemental draft while he was facing a five-game suspension from Ohio State.
The NFL suspended him five games.
I, I think that part of this is, come on, hey, let's be fair.
The NCAA can say he violated their rules.
NFL, you can't say he violated a single one of your rules.
You gotta let him play.
You got to embrace him, even with this addiction that he's in the process of trying to beat.
Yeah.
Hopefully, that's where he can be protected, that if he doesn't get to play or whatever else, yeah, the NFL can't hold it against him or, or yeah, not, avoid him in the draft until things get figured out, wherever it may be.
It's, it's an interesting one, like we've talked about.
it really is.
Kid's got some talent.
And yeah, this is, gonna be a, a big decision for the rest of his life here.
But you still think there's a chance he could play football here, for Texas Tech?
You think, you do, you think there's a chance here?
I think it's slim.
Yeah.
Okay.
I think it's slim.
Okay.
It helps, it helps that it's Texas court.
It doesn't help that it's not a Lubbock judge.
It's a judge, retired judge, who doesn't have to worry about the ballot box, who was brought in from Fort Worth.
That, and trust me, who the judge is, we talked about this last week, who the judge is makes a difference.
I think it's, I think it's slim.
And I really do think this was about forcing a decision and creating a cleaner path to the supplemental draft.
Yeah.
And I think if that was the objective, they're, they're, they're likely to make that happen, and here's hoping the NFL is fair with him and gives him a fair shot.
Keshawn Booty, now this all came out after he was drafted by the Patriots, Keshawn Booty had gambling addiction.
Keshawn Booty bet on LSU games that he played in, and the NFL never said boo about it.
Hopefully, they'll extend the same grace to Brendan Spears beat.
We'll wrap up this Monday edition of PFT Live right after this.
