Brendan Sorsby<\/a> completed an intensive inpatient treatment program for a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder \u2013 a meaningful step forward in what will be a long recovery. This week, we will welcome Brendan back on campus. We share this update because transparency with our community is not optional; it is foundational to who we are.<\/p>\nWe want to be clear with you about what we believe, and why. Brendan himself has been open\u00a0about his struggle with severe gambling addiction, and we believe his vulnerability deserves to be met with the full weight of this institution’s support. Our foremost priority in contemplating\u00a0Brendan’s future with Texas Tech is his continued health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n
To provide the continued treatment, monitoring and support we believe Brendan needs, leaders in our athletics department have worked with Brendan’s treatment team to put forward a plan that we believe is right for Brendan, for our institution, and for the integrity of college athletics.\u00a0That plan is comprehensive, thoughtful, and built to sustain his long-term recovery at Texas Tech and beyond.<\/p>\n
As Brendan returns to campus and navigates his recovery, the following structure will be in place: ongoing outpatient clinical care; participation in group and individual therapy; mentor resources; treatment for his related anxiety disorder; active monitoring of his technological\u00a0devices; installation of software to block betting sites from his devices; the appointment of a\u00a0custodian to oversee his personal finances; and periodic compliance checks. This is not a\u00a0symbolic commitment. Each element reflects our conviction, and Brendan’s, that nothing matters more right now than his continued recovery. It is our duty to provide that support and\u00a0that is support we are uniquely well-positioned to provide.<\/p>\n
Texas Tech is proud to be home to a nationally recognized Center for Students in Addiction Recovery (CSAR). With four decades of experience helping students navigate recovery, CSAR stands ready to support Brendan as he returns to campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the past month, we have given careful and deliberate thought to what is right \u2013 not only for Brendan’s recovery, but for his future as a student-athlete and a member of this community.<\/p>\n
Recently, the NCAA issued an initial ruling that Brendan is permanently ineligible to compete. Texas Tech will be appealing that decision. We believe that given the facts and the context of Brendan’s case, the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified. As a generation of college\u00a0athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular. The NCAA’s\u00a0stated mission includes “fostering [student-athletes’] lifelong well-being”, and they have claimed their goal is to promote a “culture of care” for student athletes’ mental health. Gambling\u00a0addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder, as defined in the DSM-5.<\/p>\n
The NCAA’s own Chief Medical Officer has called for a “harm reduction approach” in dealing with problem gambling so that student-athletes can “seek support without fear of impacting their eligibility.” The NCAA’s own policies and procedures for reinstatement call for “reaching an outcome that considers the well-being of the involved student-athlete.” We are asking that the NCAA follow their own stated principles in this case. Ignoring these facts in this ruling puts the letter of their rules ahead of the spirit of their mission.<\/p>\n
The NCAA bylaws governing Brendan’s case have not adapted to the era of widespread legalized sports betting that this generation of college athletes now has to navigate. He is not the first college athlete to face gambling addiction, and unfortunately, he will not be the last. Our\u00a0responsibility as higher education leaders is to create environments that support young people’s growth, maturation, and success, fit for the times in which they live. Given that Brendan has\u00a0taken accountability for his addiction and actions, a brave act in any circumstance, but especially under the intense scrutiny of a national spotlight, we believe that the best path forward for him is on campus, among his teammates, embraced by the strength of this community.<\/p>\n
As more and more young people face the pressures of gambling, the integrity of sports will continue to face greater risk. Our commitment to the integrity of the game will remain steadfast as we navigate these uncharted waters. Texas Tech has long maintained institutional measures\u00a0\u2013 including use of ProhiBet monitoring technology and robust compliance education for student-athletes \u2013 to detect and deter wagering violations. Those measures will remain in place as the\u00a0landscape continues to evolve.<\/p>\n
Our values include Students and People First, Integrity and Resilience. Brendan’s case calls for all three. Brendan has shown great resilience. We’re committed to doing right by him \u2013 by giving him the support he needs to recover from addiction and finish his collegiate athletic career. We’re also committed to doing right by all of you \u2013 to protecting the integrity of the game, to following the rules and making Texas Tech an institution you remain proud to call home.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,
\nLawrence Schovanec
\nPresident, Texas Tech University<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dear Texas Tech Community, Texas Tech University has long held that our strength as an institution rests on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169],"class_list":["post-310972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}