Brendan Sorsby ruling further shows college sports are broken

Brendan Sorsby ruling shows how college sports are out of hand 

Money shapes most decisions in modern college sports. With the advent of NIL (name, image, and likeness), schools are now pouring millions into athletes. The Wall Street Journal's Harriet Ryan and Brenna T. Smith reported in a June 6 story that some recruits are spending up to $80K on their high school proms.

Donors are investing way more in proven players like Sorsby, who has thrown 60 touchdown passes in four seasons with Indiana and the Cincinnati Bearcats. Per On3's whisper, the QB received $5M for signing with Texas Tech. 

The Red Raiders want a return on their investment, so they're pushing to restore his eligibility even if it could threaten the integrity of the sport. 

"The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court's ruling in Sorsby's case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome, which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports," the governing body said in a statement (h/t ESPN). "The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one's own sport."

Sorsby may have won Monday, but the case is far from over. Expect the NCAA to seek an appeal, which it may win. Historically, courts rule against athletes who have been found gambling to maintain public trust. Jodi Balsam, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, noted in May that exonerating the QB would "open the floodgates for anybody who is ever engaged in gambling that violates the policy and tries to defend, justify and rationalize their behavior."

Those floodgates, however, are beginning to open. College programs are too concerned with turning a profit, meaning the rules no longer apply.