Premium Notebook: Young, Dumb and Stupid
From Brendan Sorsby's gambling addiction to conference power struggles, a trip through bourbon country, Rickwood Field, and The Bright Star reminded me that the best people and institutions never lose
Young, Dumb and Stupid: The Brendan Sorsby Story.
I mean holy hell.
This kid loved gambling.
Not liked it.
Loved it.
I knew a guy like that once. He blew $30,000 gambling behind his wife’s back while simultaneously getting angry when she bought shoes for the kids. It was one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever witnessed. Gambling became food, air, water. It wasn’t entertainment anymore. It was survival. He needed the rush. The dopamine. The action.
Brendan Sorsby feels like that guy.
According to court filings released Friday, Sorsby wagered approximately $90,000 over four years, placed roughly 2,900 bets, used accounts belonging to family and friends, transferred money to others to fund wagers, bet on Indiana football at least 40 times while he was a player there, and continued gambling after arriving at Texas Tech.
Two thousand nine hundred bets.
Read that number again.
2,900.
That isn’t someone casually throwing twenty bucks on a Sunday football game.
That’s compulsion.
That’s addiction.
That’s someone chasing dopamine.
That’s someone who has lost control.
Now let’s be clear.
Sorsby deserves criticism.
The kid was unbelievably stupid.
Forty wagers involving Indiana football.
FORTY.
I don’t care if he wasn’t playing. I don’t care if the bets totaled less than a thousand dollars. I don’t care if he was betting on Indiana to win.
You’re a Division I quarterback.
How can you possibly think that’s a good idea?
How can you not understand the risk?
How can you be that talented and that reckless at the same time?
It’s astonishing.
The sad part is the cost.
This isn’t some random guy losing money on FanDuel.
This is a player who was reportedly set to earn more than $5 million at Texas Tech and potentially position himself for an NFL future.
The margin between generational wealth and ordinary life is often smaller than people realize.
One decision.
One habit.
One addiction.
One inability to stop.
That’s all it takes.
And yet, while Sorsby deserves responsibility for his actions, I also can’t help but ask a question.
What exactly did we think was going to happen?
We have created an entire sports culture built around gambling.
Commercials.
Podcasts.
Television broadcasts.
Pregame shows.
Halftime shows.
Social media.
Odds.
Parlays.
Boosts.
Notifications.
Everywhere.
All day.
Every day.
The NCAA, television networks, leagues, sportsbooks, conferences, and media companies have spent years telling young people that gambling is normal.
Then one of those young people develops a gambling addiction and everyone suddenly acts shocked.
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