NCAA argues Protect College Sports Act would ‘override’ Brendan Sorsby case, remove eligibility
In a letter to Division I commissioners Friday, the NCAA argued the Protect College Sports Act would “override” the Brendan Sorsby eligibility ruling, according to a copy obtained by On3’s Pete Nakos. The letter comes ahead of a scheduled markup next week.
The letter stressed the importance of Section 123 of the bill. It explicitly states the bill and amendments made “shall apply with respect to any action or proceeding that is pending on or commenced on or after the enactment of this Act.”
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According to the letter, that would include the Sorsby case. But the NCAA cited an effort to remove that part of the bill ahead of the markup and encouraged conferences to tell sponsors to instead strengthen that section.
“To answer many questions we received recently: yes, the bill would resolve the issue raised in the Sorsby case,” the letter states. “There, Brendan Sorsby – Texas Tech’s QB who admitted to placing thousands of sports bets, including wagers on his own team – successfully sued the NCAA in state court to overturn his NCAA-mandated eligibility. If the Protect College Sports Act becomes law before the case is fully resolved, it would override Sorsby’s legal challenge and allow the NCAA to maintain its eligibility restriction.
“But only if we are successful in keeping this provision in the bill. We understand there is an effort to strip this element from the bill before the mark up next week.”
The Protect College Sports Act directly addresses sports wagering and says the NCAA can restrict an athlete’s eligibility if they participate. The bill also listed illegal or performance-enhancing drugs as a situation in which an athlete can lose eligibility.
This story will be updated.
