Texas Tech Threatens to Sue the Big 12; How Ugly Will This Crisis Get?

The Brendan Sorsby situation has officially spiraled into a full-blown Big 12 crisis.

After the conference reportedly discussed possible consequences if Texas Tech plays Sorsby, the Texas attorney general sent a formal letter threatening legal action. Sorsby’s attorney has also warned the league against intervening. Now Texas Tech, the Big 12 and the state of Texas could be headed toward an ugly legal showdown before the season even begins.

In this live stream, I break down the latest developments and explain why the situation is far more complicated than either side wants to admit.

Texas Tech is being unfairly scapegoated for a lawsuit it did not file and a ruling it did not control. But that does not erase the core issue: Sorsby reportedly placed thousands of bets, including wagers involving his own team, and the integrity of the sport has to matter.

We discuss:

• Why the Big 12 is considering action against Texas Tech
• How the Texas attorney general changed the stakes
• Whether Tech could become ineligible for the Big 12 Championship Game
• Why a lawsuit against the conference could get messy
• The growing tension between Texas Tech and the rest of the league
• Joey McGuire’s defense of Sorsby
• Why Tech fans have legitimate reasons to feel targeted
• Why Brendan Sorsby still should not be allowed to play
• How NCAA incompetence created this entire mess
• Why the Big 12’s era of harmony may already be over

This story has become a perfect snapshot of modern college football: gambling, lawsuits, weak NCAA enforcement, conference infighting, transfer-portal tension and social-media tribalism.

The easy response is to pick a side and start yelling. The honest answer is more uncomfortable: Texas Tech is being scapegoated, but the sport still needs meaningful consequences when a player bets on his own team.

Subscribe for year-round Big 12 football coverage, live streams and analysis.

#TexasTech #Big12Football #BrendanSorsby #CollegeFootball #TexasTechFootball #Big12 #NCAA #CFB

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

You get a lawsuit, and you get a lawsuit, and you get a lawsuit. And ladies and gentlemen, if you will look under your chair right now that you are sitting under, please take a look right now because guess what? You get a lawsuit. This one from the Texas Attorney General. Uh, that's the mood right now, ladies and gentlemen. Everybody is mad, everybody is trying to sue. It's crazy. I went to Colorado for a couple days hoping I would come back and the temperature would have cooled down on some of this. Nope, it's hot as ever. Uh, everybody is dug in, everybody is angry, everybody is yelling. I sent out a newsletter earlier today that I thought was, you know, fairly measured, uh, pretty fair, definitely criticizing both sides of what is happening right now between Texas Tech and well, everybody else. Texas Tech V everybody. And there's people that thought I was too hard on Texas Tech. There are people that thought I was too hard or too easy, rather, on Texas Tech. I'm getting all the complaints. So that's just where it's at right now, ladies and gentlemen. Um, but look, there's a lot to break down. I mean, we do have lawsuits being threatened left and right. Well, the Big 12 moles over whether or not they're gonna punish Texas Tech if they do decide to play Brendan Soresby. Um, look, I took some criticism for the show that I did the other night that actually, like, I'll say some of it is fair from Texas Tech fans, so I'll address that here to start the show. I have a strong opinion on like what the Big 12 should do here. I will I will let you know that and we'll talk about that on the show. Um, I'm gonna get a Texas Tech perspective on this too as soon as uh as soon as I wrap up this live show. So I'll have that ready to go for you in the morning. Uh just trying to get all sides of this as much as I can, though. I feel like I'm as much as you can be with this issue, um fairly down the middle. Uh, but that seems to please nobody, which look, I get it. I understand. My my only request to you guys, it's fair to push back. I'm I'm fine with that. Just try to be respectful to each other with this. I know this is such a this is such an emotionally charged topic for like everybody involved. It's as much as that's like everything these days in sports and society, like this one in particular for sports and within the Big 12, seems to be as emotionally charged as anything really I can remember. I mean, we've got athletic directors out there dropping F-bombs talking about this on the record to people in the media. So if that gives you a gauge on like where everybody's at as far as an emotional reaction, it's emotional. I just, I just would appreciate if you guys would like try to be civil to each other in the chat. Certainly myself too, but look, more so in the chat. Let's let's just not let it get too out of hand, okay? I would appreciate that. Like the video, subscribe to the channel. Those things are great. Those are very civilized things to do, actually. Uh, to like the video and subscribe to the channel, and sign up for the Open for Business Big 12 newsletter, OFBnews.com. If you missed that uh newsletter from earlier today, you can sign up to get that. So I'm gonna riff here and I'll take your comments. Uh, I I know this will be one where we have plenty of comments. Uh, you can click the dollar sign below the chat box to submit a super chat if you want to guarantee that your question or comment makes it on the show tonight. And I'm actually gonna just start with uh a uh Venmo that I got, a couple of Venmos that I got, actually. And we'll move into it from there. So Devin, it's by the way, John dash Kurtz dash four on Venmo. If you hit me up there and leave a super chat there, I will kick off the next show with it. Devin says, uh, question part one. Wanted to get to wanted to get to you, wanted to get to you before all the uneducated do. I know you're a smart guy and will agree with me on this, but but what it what did Texas Tech do wrong? Everybody is calling for the school's head like they're the ones who committed the crime. Well, I do think like that sentiment, there is some truth to that and some fairness in that. Like, man, it it my my main disappointment and one of my biggest takeaways from this whole situation is just that it devolved so quickly into just another culture war. You know, I mean it's Texas Tech versus everybody else, and it's just both sides doing the digging in and tribalism thing. That's all it is. Nobody will listen to each other. There's no talking like, hey, there could actually be a middle ground or like multiple things can be true here, which is what I firmly believe. Multiple things can be true. Like, I believe that people are going too crazy with the outrage toward Texas Tech. I also believe that Brendan Soresby should absolutely not play another down of college football. I like both of those things can be true. I also believe that some of the sentiment from Texas Tech has made me roll my eyes, like suggesting that the only that that the only two options here are either to kick Brendan Soresby to the curb or play him. Like if we don't go all the way in and play him, have him playing games, then we can't support him and we would be totally abandoning him. I don't, I mean, that makes me roll my eyes, equating Joey Maguire equating saying this, it's not like he killed anybody. I mean, I hate that. And I would think that West Texas personal responsibility folks would really hate that. If you get popped for a DUI, the response is not, well, at least I didn't murder somebody. This should knock off 80% of my sentence, correct? Like, not to mention the difference in like there are there are some heinous things that have happened in college sports, but even as heinous as some of those things were, it's a different deal when it threatens the potential integrity of the sport. And yes, before you guys all rush in, I know that Brendan Soresby himself, it was found, was not actually doing anything to like throw games or affect the outcomes of games. But this has been the hard line that was written in the rules that everybody agreed upon, that nobody at Texas Tech was complaining about in January. This is the hard line we agreed on. You don't cross in regards to integrity of the game. Anyway, I'm getting way down this road. You see the point here, right? Like, I think lots of these things can be true, and this is a very complicated, complex issue. So some of the tech reactions made me roll my eyes. Some of the outrage competition on the other side has made me roll my eyes for sure. All the while, I think at the crux of this, yeah, Brendan Soresby should not play. But Texas Tech also now is in an increasingly tough position because a part of the one of the lawsuits that's being threatened today is Jeff Kessler, who is the attorney representing Brendan Soresby. He threatened to sue the Big 12 today, but he also, as a part of that, included Texas Tech. If tech were to not play him, then they could be facing some repercussions for that. So, like it it is, you know, it is a very tricky situation. It is a tricky situation. Um, my problem, I think, more so with Texas Tech's attitude towards it, I would say, has been just be a little more forthright and honest about this. I think to me, if I were managing PR, I do PR for my day job. If I were advising Texas Tech, I would say we got to be honest and transparent about this, but then let's just leave it at that and not get in front of a microphone or do podcast interviews, Cody Campbell, like and just leave it at this. We think it's in the best interest of Brendan Soresby to be with our program to help him recover from an addiction. It is certainly in our best interest if he plays quarterback for us, and we do want to win football games. And right now we're abiding by what the court said. They said he can play, so we are going to play them. This is college football. Everybody has always gone as far up to the line and what within the rules to do whatever it is that they can to win games. It's a hyper competitive sport. We're gonna do that, period. End of sentence. To me, if you just left it at that, I'd have a hard time really arguing with that very much because I think a lot of schools would do the exact same thing. I think a lot of schools would do the exact same thing. LSU for sure, which is the interesting parallel to me that I talked a little bit about the other night because Soresby could have very easily ended up at LSU. They'd be doing the same thing. I know, like, you know, Terry Mahajer, the athletic director at UCF, came out and said if he were at UCF, we wouldn't play him, we would deem him ineligible. I'm sure there are probably some schools that would do that. I think most would be doing essentially what Texas Tech is doing, just perhaps with a little less talking right now. I'll I'll say that. Now, Texas Tech may not care about the PR of this at all. If I were Texas Tech trying to angle toward the SEC or the Big Ten, I would be a I would be more measured. Again, if I were their PR guy, these are things I would be telling them and talking about. Because I don't think that tech is doing itself any favors uh right now with how it is how it is so defiantly handled all of this. Uh also, if I'm just gonna I said I was just gonna riff tonight, so I'm just gonna riff, Devin. Uh well, let's let's get to question two. Let's get to question two, Devin. Devin says, please explain to your audience that the school itself has nothing to do with this. The judge made his decision, and fans are gonna live with it, just like fans would have if his decision uh went the other direction. Well, first of all, I there's gotta be a contingent of Texas Tech fans that really basically do wish the decision went the other direction just to avoid this headache and everything that's happened and the the fallout from this and what it will do to tech season and the extra attention, intensity, pressure that's gonna come on Texas Tech from it. But yeah, look, and I've gotten this a lot from people. Like Tex it's totally fair to point out, Texas Tech did not file the lawsuit. Uh, Texas Tech did not fund the lawsuit. This is the thing I got a couple people like really, really upset with me for. Yeah, look, I said multiple times during the last show, I just used the phrase local judge, right? And a couple of times it was in the context of I'm worried about the precedent being set now that schools will go try to get a local judge to issue the injunction. Now, what I was really meaning and intending when I said that was you're not going to get like some federal judge, someone in your state, right? We've heard all these NIL cases with a lawyer in the state, like you'd go get someone in your state to issue that injunction or get what you need to get done. The attorney, or the the judge rather, that did this, I said also like three times on that show. Now, I should not have phrased it like that, because I get why tech fans are sensitive to that, because it leaves always so many people are taking this to me. Oh, well, they got a Texas Tech grad friendly judge to do them a solid and do them a favor. Well, tech wasn't involved in a lawsuit, and the judge that presided over this was from what the Fort Worth area. It was like DFW, had been retired, and had a Houston degree, Houston law degree. No Texas Tech connections. The tech guy recused himself. But if you've been watching the channel, you also know that during that live show, I did say that like three times as well. I went back and checked the transcript. I also said like three times, like, hey, the guy has a Houston law degree. We talked about that from a couple of different angles. So I knew that in my mind, I'm saying local judge as in a judge that is like in your state, not a federal judge. You're gonna get somebody that's in your state. Um, but I understand why you guys are upset about that. I should have been more clear because uh look clearly a lot of people took that and just ran with it as a storyline that was not true. Okay. So again, to reiterate the the point that Devin is making here that was not a friendly judge, right? They went and got somebody else. They ditched the judge everybody thought was going to be friendly. Texas Tech didn't file the lawsuit, Texas Tech did not uh fund the lawsuit. They are the one thing I would say, Devin, is that Texas Tech did really co-sign this decision before it even happened. Like Joey Maguire and Kirby Hokutt were talking about like that they supported the two-game suspension being the idea of this. So before it even happened, Joey Maguire, I in particular, I remember saying it at the same press conference where he was going after Steve Sarkeesian. Joey said like he he would be in favor of a two-game suspension. And that that's where people can still be frustrated and and disagree and get some takes off at Texas Tech for that. Because I totally disagree with that. That's it's way, you know, you talk about like getting thrown in jail for jaywalking. This is like the inverse of that. The the punishment does not fit the crime there at all. And I think a lot of people disagree with that, and that is where some of this anger stems from. However, does some of that anger go too far because there's a lot of bitter resentment, jealousy from other schools in the Big 12, or just annoyance to anger from others across college football who look at Texas Tech as a poster child for everything that they deem wrong with college athletics today? Yes, there is definitely that. And that's why you see the reaction so strong and why it's going over the top. And people are more than dabbling in the let me see if I can out outrage the next guy on Twitter competition right now that is going on. Uh so again, like I said, I'm I'll probably make you all angry by the time tonight's done because I'm not I'm not just gonna lean in on one side or the other here. All of these things are true, and all of these things are happening. And when you have something that is as messy as this, which is that's that's life, man. Life is messy, and something as messy as this deserves to be talked about with a bunch of nuance and a lot of context, and then a ton of different things are true at the same time. And that's what it drives me nuts that like nobody, nobody can do that. And I know glass house, like I've been there before where it's like I'm passionate about an issue, whether it's my team or conference or something else, and I just see one little phrase that tips me off, or like I see which way you're leaning on one part, and I just immediately just I shut down, and I assume you're not on the right side as me, and you're not on my side, so I'm not listening to uh anything else you say because you didn't completely agree with all my talking points over here on this side. And it drives me nuts that that's all how we are, and I've certainly been a part of that problem in the past, but it's just guys, I don't think it's fair or possible on this issue at all to be attacking it like that. So that's what I wrote about today in Open for Business. So subscribe, ofbnews.com. If you want to get that from earlier today, and I just I hope that more people respect that and and come around to it. Uh Erwin, I appreciate your support. He hit me up on Venmo at John-Gertz-4. Erwin said, Hey, John, keep up the good work. All the ethical stuff aside, tech national contender thoughts, which is really interesting. And Irwin, I honestly, in the midst of all of this, it's like the eye of the storm, man. I appreciate in the midst of all this, somebody wanting to talk about football. What does this do to Texas Tech as a football team? Well, look, one thing you'll need to consider is that uh Joey Maguire did say today, was it today or yesterday, perhaps yesterday, Joey Maguire said he may not even be playing by week three. Like that there is a chance that if if the recovery process isn't going the way that it needs to, that it could drift on longer than that. So that would need to be taken into consideration because that's gonna be a huge game against Houston. You guys know how I feel about Houston. They're in my top contender tier in the Big 12. Um, I think they're in the top three, certainly in the league. So that could put Tech in a really tough spot, especially if uh Will Hammond is not fully healed and ready. If we assume that Brendan Soresby is gonna play like 10 plus regular season games this year, well, I guess I would say 10 plus overall games this year. You know, I mean, yeah, Tech should be. I think that team is, I said before, I think they were far and away the best team in the Big 12 with Brendan Soresby. But the question will be now, you you have an extra element that's been added into the mix now than when we were talking about this in like January, February. And um that extra element is how much will the weight of the expectations and the weight of being the biggest villain in college football play a role in what text season is going to be? Like that can be a drain on you or a drag on you and can juice up some other road environments that you're going to play in uh throughout the season that can make things more difficult. I'm also open to the fact that, hey, it's still June. We got a long time before games start. By the time that comes around, it won't be quite as big of a deal. Or when you get in the middle of the season, people aren't going to be thinking about that as much, and it really won't actually matter. We're making a bigger deal of it now in the summer than it actually may be. That may well be true. But I do think you think about a guy like Brendan Soresby, and this would be one of my concerns, Erwin, is that he's got a lot to deal with now because you know how many eyeballs are gonna be on that guy? Everybody knows his name now. I actually, you know, I preach this, like actions have consequences. He committed these actions, they are going to have consequences. Um he's gotta deal with the fallout of that. Having said that, I can still have empathy for him and be like, man, he messed up and he filed a lawsuit and he definitely wants to play, so he he had to know in some way what he was getting into. But I don't know. Did you know it was gonna be like this? You know, Joey Maguire talked about Soresby's parents calling him just to be like, hey, like, is Texas Tech gonna be okay? Because this is nuts. Uh, and it's just gonna lead to so much more unnecessary hate toward him, the way this is all blown up, and and people really putting him under a microscope and coming after him. So in that way, I do I do have some empathy for him, and that will be a unique challenge for him to operate under. Because think about Soresby's career so far. He's operated in relative obscurity until about midway through last season. And I don't, no disrespect to Cincinnati, but not many were paying attention to Brendan Soresby until we got six or seven weeks into the year in 2025, and then it was like, oh, wait, this team's undefeated. They got a quarterback undefeated in conference play, and they got a quarterback who's playing really, really well. And okay, let's go put him on college game day. And then the spotlight came and things went downhill, and the end of the season went poorly each of the last two years for Swordby. So he's not had uh any real part of his career. He's had like one game, it was really like the Utah game last year, where the spotlight was actually really on him. I mean, it's gonna be like that times 10 every game this year that he actually plays. So I think you have to consider that, Erwin, and what you're projecting for Texas Tech. But yeah, they're contender. You asked me contender, just national contender. You didn't say national title contender. If you're saying national contender, like, do I think that they could win playoff games? I do. I think if things go right, I think Texas Tech could. Um, but it will just be really interesting to see one, where the Soresby stuff settles in the first place, and two what that extra pressure is going to do this year. What that will do to the whole team, but but particularly Soresby himself. Okay, let's uh let's get to some super chats, and then I'm gonna walk you through all the specific updates from today, which include obviously the lawsuits, and then I'm also I will just give you my opinion on what the Big 12 should do here because I do I have a strong, strong opinion on that. Uh, let's see, Kim. Kim says, uh Forrest Gump could have handled this mess better. Well, you know, I mean, Forrest Gump's uh he's a great diplomat. He's been to the White House. Um, he has made friends with lots of people and lots of different aspects of life. I feel like we should maybe not disgruntle Forrest Gump here and solely his good name. But no, Kim, I appreciate the analogy and I understand what you're talking about. And I know just from chatting a little bit with Kim, I Kim is one of the tech fans that's a little worn out with this story uh at this point, which I completely understand, and I'm sure there are a lot of you. I'm sure there are a lot of you we tend to hear from the loudest on the other side uh that are that are on Al Gore's internet these days. Uh, but I'm sure there are a lot in your in your shoes as well, Kim. Kim, by the way, also if you want to, he's doubling down on his opinion here that Sorsby is never playing it down for Texas Tech. Well, that's that's where we're gonna get into all the legal stuff because like if he doesn't, now you've got Jeffrey Kessler, Brendan Sorsby's lawyer, threatening to not only bring legal action against the Big 12, but if it were Tech that did it on its own volition, uh then he would come after Texas Tech. So like Soresby's team is now like all in on like, hey, let's put the hammer down here. We're not gonna let them escape without letting you play this year. That's that's really the way that it feels right now. Uh David, what's up, David? David says Iowa State players were kicked out for the same thing. Uh, so I don't understand how this is different. Well, the the only way that it's different is that the Iowa State situation didn't wind up with it getting taken to uh a judge. It didn't get taken through the courts, and you didn't have a judge issue an injunction that would have allowed Hunter Deckers to play, which is really interesting because had that happened, I we might not have Rocco Beck's right. Now. What would Iowa State have done? What would their trajectory have been? Would Matt Campbell not be the head coach at Penn State right now? What kind of butterfly effect would we have had then? But yeah, that's basically it. I mean, in fact, you know, Hunter Deckers bet on his team once and got permanently banned from the NCAA. Now, the punishment from the NCAA was the same for Brendan Sorsby that he got the hey, you're permanently ineligible for betting 40 plus times on your team. Um, but in this case, we're in the era of everybody suing the NCAA for everything. So you file a lawsuit, you get a hotshot attorney that's kicked the NCAA's rear end before, and you go after them, and ta-da, there you go. You don't you don't even need to win a case. You just need to get them to say, hey, yeah, I think you have a point here that should probably be heard, and then the court system's slow enough that it wouldn't be heard until after the season. So that's that's basically it, David. That that is the difference right there. Uh let's see. Darius. Darius says, if there's a 15 to one vote, how can Cincy cast a vote? Okay, so I see what you're getting at here because like if your school involved, well, 15 to 1 vote. I mean, if it's a 15 to one vote, then then Texas Tech is getting to cast a vote, right? I thought what you were getting at there for a second was like if if you're a team involved, are you able to vote? But if if it's 15 to 1, then clearly Texas Tech is able to get a vote as well. If you're saying that any teams involved shouldn't get a vote and have to pull themselves away, I would listen to your argument that Cincinnati should not get a vote there because Cincinnati obviously did have Brendan Soresby play last year. And that look, that is one of the things I'm hearing a lot from Texas Tech fans is why is Cincinnati not getting more heat in this? Why is all of it coming down on Texas Tech when Brendan Soresby has not played a down of football yet for Texas Tech? And he played a lot of them for not only Indiana, but also Cincinnati. And the basic reason for that is why why is there not way more heat on Cincinnati right now? Well, there are a couple of things. One, yes, there is a lot of the bitter jealousy resentment built up toward Texas Tech. I totally correct. You're just being ignorant if you're willing to ignore that that is not there and that is not a part of what's happening. That doesn't mean that those people are fundamentally wrong about the position that they have, but it does mean that that is creating a bigger vortex of this stuff happening, and like there's more and more vitriol. Uh, but the other reason is that like Cincinnati, from what we've seen so far, like in affidavits, like they they have plausible deniability that they didn't know that Soresby was actually betting. Now, if you want to say, John, I don't buy that, there's there's no way they were they were naive and basically turned a blind eye to what they knew was probably a problem last year. If you want to say, hey, that's my opinion, I would say you're that's I wouldn't completely crush you for that opinion, though I have no proof of that. What we know is that Prohibit, the app that all the student athletes have to sign up for, that triggers when they either place a bet or sign up for a gambling app. It it pings the school. That happened before the uh 2024 football season. Cincinnati got pinged, talked to Brendan Soresby about it. He came in and lied and said that it was like, hey, I tried to download an app and it wouldn't let me do it. And then they said, okay, here's some, they gave him some gambling education in their words, and then they were they were done with it. If you're saying uh they should have known that there was more there, they should have investigated more, they should have tried to do more, okay, that's that's a reasonable conversation that we can have. Why is Texas Tech getting more heat for it? Because look, part of this is with to whom much is given, much is expected. Right? I mean, Texas Tech is the program that matters more. It's a lightning rod for a lot of reasons, many of which are unfair, but you're also you're the bigger program. You're the bigger program. People are gonna care more. People care more about a scandal at LSU than they do at Norfolk State. I don't mean that as I say that I'm like, I Cincy fans are gonna hate me for that. I that's a complete exaggeration, just to make the point, right? But like you, you are the program that one is front and center right now, and two is more relevant nationally at the moment. So that is that is definitely a part of it. And you gotta be willing to accept some of that if you are if you are tech, right? I I think you gotta be willing to to shoulder some of that and understand that that if you are going to be more relevant, good or bad, when bad things happen, more people are gonna zero in on you and and talk about you. Yeah, I mean, we could say Indiana too. I think like Indiana, I see you thought uh 007. Um the thing with Indiana is it's like it was a it was a previous regime, right? So it's not even Kurt Signetti. We're going back really far on that one. And I don't know at that point, I don't know if Big Ten schools were using Prohibet. I don't have the information on that. At that point, I'm I'm a little over my skis talking about what would have been known or what should have been known by Indiana at that point in time. So it's so far gone. You don't even have the same regime there. That's a part of why you're not hearing more about Indiana here, even though obviously, as the defending national champions, they are uh the the biggest of any of the programs right now, right? Undoubtedly, because of what they have just recently done. Uh so yeah, look, here's what happened today. Okay, the Big 12 is still having meetings every day. It seems like now we're getting a new statement from Brett Yormark. I stayed off of Twitter for um, and by the way, please do subscribe to the channel. Uh, it really helps pushing to 35k subs. Many of you watch but don't subscribe. It helps a lot if you subscribe. If you're a Big 12 fan, you definitely want to be here. And if you just want a take on what's going on in the college sports world, the college football world, but not from an SEC or Big Ten perspective, this is a great place for you to please do subscribe. It seemed like while I was off Twitter, I was still getting an email quote from Brett Yormark every single day as I was in Colorado, where it was like, okay, so we have another quote that basically says, Hey, we met, everybody's angry, we haven't done anything yet. I mean, that's what all these quotes boil down to, basically. Uh let's see. Now, this is about the attorney general suing. Do we have the yeah? Here's the here's the quote. Brett Yormark's statement after meeting with his executive committee of presidents. So he met with the executive committee of presidents today. Shortly before the start of today's Big 12 Executive Board meeting, the conference received a letter from the Texas Attorneys General's office notifying the conference of potential legal action. Uh, but we're taking our time with our legal counsel to understand the concerns of the state, and we will meet with the full board next week. We move forward with our executive board today in preparation for our full board meeting on Monday. We had a good and informative discussion. Uh, board was no executive board was no different from what we heard from the ADs earlier in the week, meaning they're mad too. Everybody's everybody's still angry. That's what we got. And we're gonna get a full board meeting next week. So I guess I would say like the the wait is on for next week. Hurry up and wait and see if by that point the Big 12 will decide to actually do anything. Should they do something? Uh, here's where we got to start getting into the the threats of litigation. This one comes from the uh Texas Attorney General. Uh, you know, if you really you can go to Twitter at JL Kurtz if you want to actually read this whole thing. But it's basically like, hey, we're confident the Big 12's not going to do anything because if they do, there will be significant legal consequences, liability for breach of contract, tortuous interference, any sanction that results in the cancellation, forfeiture, or alteration of Texas Text as scheduled games would constitute a breach of the Big 12's contractual obligations, blah, blah, blah. It's a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. Sorry. Legal guys. I just uh I get bored with all the lawsuits here. So there's that. Uh Ken Paxton, I know many people pointed out uh he's gonna be in a Senate race that's a really hotly contested one, and he gets he has taken money from Cody Campbell before. So is this just posturing basically um to try and you know fire some shots across the bow, rally support, all those things. Maybe, who knows? I don't know enough about what an attorney general can do and how you know what the legalities are here and how serious you could take that. I will say that Tom Mars, who is another one of these like super attorneys in the college sports space, actually the guy that's uh working with Jerome Tang right now to try and get his full buyout from K-State, he seemed to really brush that off, the attorney general one at least, and didn't give it a whole lot of credence as far as that being a legitimate threat, but that is one thing that happened today. I think the the uh the one that matters more is the Jeff Kessler lawsuit. Uh Jeff Kessler threatening a lawsuit, put it that way. Uh see if I can pull this up. I didn't have it pulled up before the show. My fault. Um yeah, Jeffrey Kessler has sent a letter to the Big 12 detailing potential legal action. If uh the league sanctions Brendan Soresby or Texas Tech, he also requests that the conference preserve all documents for possible discovery. Okay. So he says the Big 12 is bound by the order as an entity and active concert of participation with defendant NCAA. Uh any attempt by the Big 12 to circumvent the order, including by sanctioning Texas Tech University under bylaw 3.6 of the Big 12's bylaws, encouraging or facilitating its member schools to boycott Texas Tech uh football or Texas Tech Athletics more broadly, or otherwise taking any steps to prohibit Mr. Soresby from practicing, playing, or otherwise participating on Texas Tech's football team for the 2026 football season, would violate and be in contempt of the order. In addition, a boycott of Texas Tech and Mr. Soresby would be a per se violation of antitrust laws and expose the Big 12 to uh substantial liability. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So there you go. You see the language in there even is saying, like, if you encourage or facilitate member schools to boycott Texas Tech or Texas Tech Athletics or take steps to prohibit Mr. Soresby from practicing, playing, or otherwise participating on Texas Tech's football team? So that's where I, you know, I see that language. It's what I was talking about earlier in the show. I see that language, and I'm like, does that even mean like if you're Texas Tech, there's a little bit of pressure there? Like you feel like you got to play him now? Like Kessler's kind of lining up here to like maybe they would come after you because, or just come after the Big 12, even at this point, if Texas Tech decided to make a decision on their own to not play him, because you would say, well, that was probably influenced by the Big 12 coming out, and you have these ADs saying, Yeah, we've been talking about not playing them, or we've been the Big 12's legal team is probably not thrilled with some of the quotes that came out from the ADs earlier this week. I guess I would put it that way. Um, again, I say this I have no law degree. I don't know the legalities of all of this stuff. That is speculation on my part, but I do wonder if now Texas Tech feels a little bit like that. Not that that was going to be the reason that Texas Tech ultimately played him anyway. And that goes back to one of my frustrations with this. Is like, dude, just call it what it is, Texas Tech. Like, hey, I don't doubt that you guys care about Brendan Soresby as a man and as a person, and you want him to get better. You can do all there is a world that exists where you can do all of that. You can do all of that. You can give him access to school, you can give him access to uh all the mental health support that he needs, you can give him access to all the medical support that he needs, you can give him access to being around the guys, being around his friends and his teammates, and still not play him in a football game and be very supportive of him. So, you know, I I reject the notion that Texas Tech is on some kind of moral high ground here. But also, I think it's what a ton of schools would do. So anybody trying to really shame Texas Tech for doing it, I think they're doing what most schools would do. It's cutthroat out there. Like, guys, we have coaches legitimately tampering with a kid who's sitting in, remember the old miss thing? Pete Golding is like texting a kid that's already signed with Clemson and in class, and you know, Salse Moa is like in class at Utah and winds up having an announcement then to go to Michigan. Like, it's we live in a pretty lawless world in college sports right now. If a judge has ruled that the guy can play, I think you're gonna get a high number of schools across the country that would go ahead and and play him, even though, even though. Yeah. I'm sorry, I'm getting caught reading the uh the comments here, you guys. I'm catching up on some comments. It is it is insane. We've already had people quitting. I'm sorry if we've already had people quitting. I told you guys to behave a little bit. Jeb, I would be curious to know why why am I covering it like what what is okay? So I'm a K-State homer. We know why you're covering this like this. Like what? Are you a tech fan? Which side? I'm curious on this because I keep I get people angry on both sides. I'm curious, Jeb, which which side are you upset about on that? Uh I have missed some super chats. My fault, Alan. Uh Alan says, John, in your lifetime. Oh, okay. Alan's totally, totally switching it up. Uh, John, in your lifetime, who is your favorite Big 12 player, non-K-State and why? Uh, most memorable non-K-State Big 12 game. Oh boy, Alan. Good questions. Big questions. Uh, my favorite non-K-State player. Well, I always basketball, it's an easy one. I usually say Lace Darius Dunn uh for basketball, football. Hmm. I mean, does it count to say Johnny Manzell? I really liked Johnny Manzell when he played, and I know that's a risky thing to say now with Colin Klein back as the head coach at K-State, but I did very much enjoy Manzell when he was playing. Um Trevon Boykin was really fun at TCU. That would be another one that comes to mind. I know I'm being very quarterback-centric here. Most memorable non-K-State Big 12 game. I always I'm a sucker for the back-to-back KU Missouri games in 07 and 08. Obviously, the one that was top five matchup at Arrowhead, but then you follow it up with uh the game that Kansas won at the last minute, that Todd Reese to Carrie Meyer touchdown uh at Arrowhead the next year. I really like those games. Maybe Nebraska, Colorado, that 62-36 when Colorado dropped them in like 2001, I think that was. That's a that's another one that I really like and remember. So a couple of thoughts there, Alan. Appreciate your support as always. Reginald, Reginald, thank you for the support. My friend Reginald says a UH alum, uh, a UH alumni contributes significantly to the game. Ole Miss is a player who successfully defended his case and has been in the field for over four years. Okay, hang on. A UH alumni contributes significantly to the game. Ole Miss, is this Ole Miss has a player who successfully defended his case? So, all right, I'm a little Reginald, I'm a little lost here. I think a part of this is referencing the Trinidad Chambliss case. I'm guessing if it's Ole Miss has a player who defended his case. Maybe were you talking about Tom Mars? Was this was this Tom Mars when that did he defend Trinidad Chambliss? Maybe or Jeff Kessler. It was Mars, right, who defended Trinidad Chambliss. I'm I'm guessing that's what it is, right? That you were doing this when I was talking about him. Let me know what I'm what I'm misunderstanding there, Reginald, and I will uh I will make sure to get on top of that. Darius says, I think tech was surprised that the uh injunction granted. Bracket Cat, you're right. I'm an idiot. Sorry. He did only play in the SEC. You are correct. Uh I think Tech was surprised the injunction granted. Yeah, I could definitely see that. It feels like, I mean, everybody was shocked. Remember, I just mentioned Tom Mars, that attorney, he was one of those that considered himself shocked when it happened. So I think like everybody totally was. Totally and completely shocked. Um and if that if the reason for you saying that is partially being like, hey, you know, there hasn't been like a coordinated strategy on on how to handle it after this. I I can understand some of that. I can grant you a little bit of leeway toward that with like, hey, Joey Maguire's got a speaking engagement that was already scheduled. You know he's gonna get asked about it. Uh he's not one to just run and hide, and and he can't he can't just run and hide. Um I I I would listen to that. I would listen to that. I think that can be fair. I think that can be fair. Uh Tyler, what's up, Tyler? Let Texas Tech decide. If he plays, then no playoffs in championship, then it won't hurt his career if he plays. All right, so you're saying let Texas Tech decide if they want to play him, if he plays, then they don't go to the playoff uh or the championship, then it won't technically hurt his career if he plays. Well, I don't know that one's gonna fly in court because you'd be like, well, I mean, under normal circumstances, he could just play and then play in the playoff, and uh it would still hurt it. I don't I don't know if that flies, but you already heard again, no lawyer. This is not like a legal take on how the case was explained or adjudicated or any of that. My just overall thought is he would have still been taken in the supplemental draft, he would have still had an NFL career, even if it's not the supplemental draft, he would have had an ample opportunity to play in the NFL. And so I you know, seeing the language like, oh, you know, his career being really hurt, it's like, well, one, I think he it was not going to end his career, and two, these are consequences. You know, I continue to go to Josh Pate saying in a past life we called these consequences, like these are these are supposed to be consequences to actions that are very serious. Because this is one this also drives me crazy. Like some of this, well, he didn't he didn't kill anybody. That whole sentiment from Texas Tech. People, this was not some minor offense. He spent all of this illegal. You're not supposed to be betting on any of these sports. 90 grand, 65 grand going across well, 65 grand being bet by others for him on his behalf. So not just doing it, but then knowing that he's skirting the rules by having others do it. 40 bets on his own team, right? Like that this was not going five over the speed limit. Like this was these were pretty big, even if we're taking away, you know, because a lot of this is the competitive integrity argument. Well, the NCAA said he wasn't like actually throwing games or anything, so why do we care? I mean, okay, look at the full scope of this. That's still more than a two-game suspension. That still warrants a hell of a lot more than a two-game suspension against a couple of non-con teams that you'll crush. Like that's, you know, I just it's funny to me how quickly people just lose any sense or care for law and order, dare I say, when it's when it's their guy, when it's their guy. And I'm not saying tech fans are unique. Lots of schools do it and will do it and have done it. Uh, but when you see it in the moment, you're just like, guys, I mean, come on, like, we can we accept like some level of responsibility, like a a little level of like personal responsibility for this. I harped on that a lot the other night, so I'm not gonna do it a ton tonight. But anyway, Tyler, I don't know that that would fly in court. No lawyer, once again. I don't know that that would fly in court. Darius says, for some reason I take extra K-State, Texas, and Iowa heat. Wow, Iowa and not Iowa State, huh? Interesting. Uh, okay. Well, the K-State stuff, I mean, I I know that the the K-State back and forth really heated up. Uh my perception was over Austin Romain. So that would be like a guess as to where some of that came from. Also, like K-State fans, I mean, K-State have beaten tech what, nine times in a row before last year. So I, you know, if you're talking about a fan base that probably got a pretty abrupt, rude awakening there, that that would be one. That's not what K-State fans had come to expect from playing Texas Tech. There's just a couple of theories there. Texas, I mean, I think that's pretty damn obvious. Like I obviously the in-state thing and and the big brother-little brother dynamic, but uh beyond just that, you know, Texas would probably even be offended at calling Texas Tech uh little brother when they've got Texas Ain't in there. But beyond just that, like Texas Tech has now entered the realm where they're being talked about nationally, and then things with Sark blew up like that. That makes a ton of sense. I don't know about Iowa. I got nothing there. But actually, now that you say that, Darius, I feel like I've seen a lot of Iowa chirping about the Brendan Sorsby issue myself. Uh, so you you may be on to something there. You may be on to something there, my friend. Uh okay, uh boy, I've talked all this time. I have not yet told you. Well, first of all, I didn't even finish what's I'm sorry, I've been all over the place. This has not been a very focused live stream. I do, I do apologize for that. Those of you listening on audio, thank you as well. Uh on Spotify, Apple, wherever it is that you get podcasts. Uh, these continue to blow up there. So thank you for that sincerely and uh continue to listen. You can all you can check out the YouTube live shows if you subscribe. To the YouTube channel, you get notifications when I'm going live. Typically Wednesday or Thursday, and then Sunday nights at around eight. Texas Attorney General threatening to sue. Jeff Kessler threatening to sue. Cody Campbell says Big 12 teams were, you know, committed. It was collusion that Gene Taylor said that they were talking about not playing Texas Tech. That was another threat that was thrown out there today. The Big Ten, by the way, if you care at all, did drop they dropped any talk of having a league-wide mandate to not play Texas Tech. So that that is basically what happened today, as far as the update goes. We're still waiting on if the Big 12 is going to do anything. I've got a very simple opinion on that here that I've teased out for the entire show and have not delivered to you yet. Um let me do that here. I don't think it's worth it. I don't think it's worth it to do anything. I mean, some of this guy like it's June 11th, man. The headaches that will come if you do something, and I know the response I would get back from people that that want something to happen and really want something to happen is hey, the Big 12 has to be who takes a stand. If if not now, then when? When are we going to take a stand on this the integrity issue? And like I, as I have said, I agree with you on the I don't care if this specific case he didn't try to throw a game. We have decided that the line on integrity of the game long ago, that nobody, no tech fan had an issue with before this happened, that the line on integrity of the game is don't bet on your own team. That has been established lying in the sand for a long time because when you start to bend that, that slope gets really slippery. Then what happens when the next guy comes along and tries to push it a little bit and you let it go a little further and a little further, and you can't mess with that because if you break that and people don't trust it anymore, that the outcomes are real, then you've lost everything. So you just you can't go down that road. And that's what that is that's my opinion. I share that with many people, and I understand why many people are there, and you would say, Well, you have to defend that at all costs here, John. And I would say, if the Big 12 does that, is that really gonna stop the next school from doing the same thing or the next player? Really, the more accurate way to say it would be for the next player from going and just finding a judge in his state to make a ruling on it, potentially get an injunction here. That I don't think it would stop anybody. Because, like I said, in defense of Texas Tech, lots of schools would do what they are doing in this era right now. Everybody wants to win desperately. Tell me the SEC, like you'd have SEC schools that would just be like, eh, okay, fine. We lost our quarterback. That's that's cool. No way, man. So I don't think even the Big 12 making a big stand here is really gonna be this. I'm just cynical enough about everybody in college athletics trying to do what has always been done throughout the history of the sport, which is win at all costs. I don't know that it would really be saving all that much. What you need is the NCAA to have the power to enforce it. And so that's a whole different conversation. You've either got to collectively bargain or get this Protect College Sports Act through. That's what you really need. And so in the meantime, do I want the Big 12 to go through uh a monster, monster headache and have to deal with then more lawsuits going as the season approaches? And, you know, whatever recourse is going to come from that, I just meanwhile, what are your TV partners gonna say? I've spent a lot of time talking about how I think Brett Yormark has done a great job, slowly but surely, pulling in more TV partners, building up basketball, doing all these things to maximize the TV product. And then you're suddenly gonna go to your TV partners two months before the season and be like, hey, you know that team that everybody wants to watch right now because they won the league and because everybody hates them right now and they're a lightning rod and everyone's gonna want to watch them, even if it's hate watching them. Uh yeah, we're not gonna play them. You definitely can't do that. Or, hey, you know this Big 12 championship game that's the highest-rated thing we're gonna put out there all year. Yeah, we're not we're gonna say Texas Tech's not eligible for that. Like the team that people would most want to watch in that game, we're gonna say that they're not eligible for that. I mean, your TV partners are not going to love that. I just I don't think a lot of these, I don't think it's worth it. I don't think it's worth the mess. I wouldn't do it because I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze. Not only the mess you'll have to deal with, but I don't think other people would like abide by your decision in the future. I don't think it would be precedent setting. I think everyone's gonna do what they can do to win until the NCAA or some governing body actually has the power to make decisions on this. So that's what you need. That's what you need. Um let's see. Reginald, okay, Reginald, thanks for following up, man. I I tried to find you in the regular chat, it was moving too fast. I feel bad that you had to pop in an extra super chat there, but thank you, my friend. Uh Reginald says, Okay, yeah, so Trinidad Chambless, SEC and Big Ten, some cases were swept under the rug. Uh Texas Tech just exposed what should have been in the light years ago. Well, look, I again, if the opinion is it this is uh to me a different conversation. If the opinion is, hey, the NCAA never really had this power, it was always kind of a facade, and everything's just recently really been exposed. Hey, totally there. I'm with you on that. Like it was obviously always a house of cards, and there are a lot of people who have like accepted NCAA sanctions over the years that probably now are really kicking themselves like, why did I not just sue? Like, why didn't I just sue them? Because they clearly have had no power and they they lose every time anybody challenges anything now. Uh so I think that's a totally fair point and discussion. I I do, Reginald. Um I do. So thank you, my friend. Thank you, thank you. I think this is probably going to about wrap it up. Uh have we have we sufficiently solved and addressed everything tonight that you wanted uh sufficiently solved and addressed? Hopefully so. Hopefully so. Um, let's see. Where was the other chat that I was just looking at? It's crazy, man. He's moving fast. Um okay, this is what I wanted to address. So, like, this is this is the this is the John John's opinion is we should have no rules because people will break rules. No, I uh actually have been emphatically saying I think Brendan Soresby should get, if not a lifetime ban, a a one-season ban, which I guess, you know, and it's not gonna make much of a difference to him here. But I think betting on your team should be at minimum a one season, full one season suspension punishment. Uh hard line stance, not giving in on that. Don't care really what your opinion is. I think that's a hard line that needs to be protected, but it really can't be protected by the NCAA. My point is not don't have rules because people will break them. My point is you can have a rule, but it's not going to matter because there's no there's nobody there to enforce it. You can have the rule, but the NCAA is not going to be there to enforce it. So if I'm the Big 12, I wouldn't want to go through the mess that's going to come with trying to defend it because then I think the next guy would still just try to do the same thing. Uh that that is my opinion on that. So, anyway, that's uh I I understand the passion and I understand the frustration from a lot of people with a lot of this because this is not this is not a fun situation. Guys, this sucks. Like, we just play like this sucks. I hate how at each other's throats everybody is. It's gonna make things really tough and tricky for just the relationship between Texas Tech and the Big 12 moving forward. And like, look, let's face it, I mean, Texas Tech has nowhere else to go right now. They're not doing themselves any favors with the SEC and Big Ten with the way everybody involved with Texas Tech is acting right now. There's no invite to the SEC or Big Ten right now. You're stuck in the Big 12, and that relationship is icy, man. Going back to Tortilla Gate and then the Friday night game against Houston, it's icy. Uh, so it's not gonna be a really fun thing for everybody to navigate. And for tech fans, this is a bummer. Like you were six really excited for the season, hoping for another playoff uh appearance and potentially a playoff run this year with a better quarterback. You didn't choose to gamble. You didn't know that he had gambled when you brought him in and chose him as your quarterback. And now this has all just been totally thrown in your lap for things that happened most of things that mostly things that happened while he was at other schools. That's not Texas Tech's fault, and that's a huge bummer. Okay. Now, again, lots of the reaction I don't agree with how Texas Tech has handled it and how things have gone and all of that. But that's not a fun thing. So I don't like where anybody's at. I don't think this is a great thing for Brendan Soresby either. I think it will make it harder for Texas Tech to have a successful season, even if he plays now. So, like in some ways the damage has been done. Uh, but hey, I let's let's just let's part on this, okay? Crazy Diamond says September can't get here fast enough. September can't get here fast enough. We we need football. But I'm just like, what is gonna happen between now and September? You know, there was a I haven't even read Ross Dellinger had a big story today about Ted Cruz thinking that he can get the Senate bill through even without the SEC and Big Ten's support. So we've got that going on too this summer. It's just pure total chaos right now. Anyway, all right. I appreciate all of you. Thank you for being here. Please like the video, please subscribe to the channel. Um sign up for the Open for Business Big Twelve newsletter at OFBnews.com. That is OFBnews.com, and I will talk to you all very soon.