Welcome to the Human Zoo
The Brendan Sorsby saga, gambling culture, college football anarchy, and one unavoidable question: what exactly are we all doing here?
Being a human is weird.
Honestly, sometimes I wonder if we’re all just living in some giant human zoo built for the amusement of a more advanced civilization somewhere out in the cosmos. Maybe every Tuesday night a family on Planet X gathers around a screen and watches us the way we watch reality television.
“Look at these people,” they say. “They’ve done it again,” they exclaim.“What absurd creatures.”
Because what else am I supposed to make of the Brendan Sorsby situation?
The news broke today that a Lubbock County judge granted Sorsby an injunction, making him immediately eligible to play while his legal battle with the NCAA continues. The NCAA has already appealed and is pushing for a speedy process.
And my reaction wasn’t outrage.
It wasn’t even surprise.
It was simply:
What the hell is this world?
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Texas Tech knows Brendan Sorsby bet on games. He admitted it. We know he bet on Indiana games while he was at Indiana. We know he violated NCAA rules.
Yet here we are.
If this same situation happened at a rival school, can you imagine the reaction? Tech fans would be losing their minds. Administrators would be issuing statements. Coaches would be demanding accountability.
Instead, everybody suddenly discovers shades of gray when the quarterback happens to be wearing their colors.
Funny how that works.
The entire thing also raises questions about how much influence powerful boosters and donors now wield in college athletics. Whether fair or unfair, plenty of people around the Big 12 are asking how much power exists behind the scenes in Lubbock and who is really steering the ship. What exactly do we know about this Cody Campbell guy?
What stunned me most, though, was the injunction itself.
The judge didn’t rule on the merits of the case.
But let’s be honest about what happened.
By granting the injunction, the practical effect was allowing Sorsby to play football this season because sitting out would supposedly cause irreparable harm.
That tells you everything you need to know about the immediate intention.
The reaction around college athletics has been fierce.
Athletic directors are angry.
Administrators are angry.
Fans are angry.
Rumors are flying that some schools don’t even want to play Texas Tech this season. Others are privately hoping public pressure becomes so overwhelming that the whole thing collapses under its own weight.
Maybe it will.
Maybe it won’t.
But here’s where the hypocrisy enters the conversation.
Everyone wants to talk about Brendan Sorsby.
Few people want to talk about us.
Let’s stop pretending gambling isn’t exactly what modern sports wanted.
We plaster betting odds across broadcasts.
We celebrate partnerships with sportsbooks.
We run commercials every commercial break.
We build entire television segments around point spreads.
Then we act shocked when someone develops a gambling problem.
Sorsby clearly has an addictive personality. He took the bait.
Hook.
Line.
Sinker.
That doesn’t excuse what he did. He knew the rules. He broke them.
But are we really surprised?
There’s a reason Las Vegas looks the way it does.
There’s a reason sportsbook companies generate billions.
There’s a reason states love the tax revenue.
There’s also a reason every gambling advertisement ends with a warning and a phone number to call if you have a problem.
The industry knows exactly what it’s selling.
Honestly, wasn’t this bound to happen?
Maybe this embarrassing day in sports history is exactly what we deserve.
The NCAA is hoping an appeal can restore some order.
Many fans spent Sunday arguing that if Sorsby plays this fall, the integrity of college football is gone forever.
Others responded by saying that ship sailed years ago.
I saw plenty of people point to Michigan winning a national championship despite NCAA investigations and controversies hanging over the program.
Fair point.
College sports today often feels less like an organized system and more like a 1990s punk concert.
Anarchy everywhere.
Nobody in charge.
Everybody screaming. Feels like a never-ending mosh pit.
Rules that exist until someone decides they don’t.
Maybe this is a new low.
It certainly feels like one.
But the more I thought about it, the less interested I became in Brendan Sorsby and the more interested I became in humanity itself.
Why are people so bizarre?
Why are we so complicated?
