Oklahoma Attorney General Fires Back at Texas AG and Texas Tech with Letter to Big 12
STILLWATER – The continuing saga and constant posturing and communicating following the Monday decision by Lubbock, Texas State Court replacement judge Ken Curry to grant Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA allowing him to play this season (with stipulations). The college sports governing body had suspended Sorsby for repeated (over 9,000 and worth over $90,000) gambling wagers that included gambling on NCAA sports, college football, and while at Indiana as a redshirt freshman wagers on Hoosier football games. Now in a letter to the Big 12, Commissioner Brett Yormark, and the Big 12 Executive Board Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has recommended the conference take action against Texas Tech following quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s gambling violations.
Drummond, who is an Oklahoma State University graduate and is currently running as a republican candidate for Governor of Oklahoma, said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s claims (in a letter to the Big 12 on Thursday) that sanctions against Texas Tech would violate antitrust laws are meritless. Drummond noted his office has a direct interest in the integrity of Big 12 Conference competition since Oklahoma State University is a Big 12 member.
“The idea that the Big 12 may not sanction the actions of one of its members under an agreed-upon preexisting contract is facially absurd,” Drummond said in the letter. “By adopting and enforcing its bylaws, the Big 12 Conference is simply ‘upholding integrity and fair play among [its] membership.”
Drummond cited that Sorsby broke NCAA rules with his wagering roughly $90,000 on sports across four years and while attending three different schools.
“If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should,” Drummond said, adding his office stands ready to assist the conference.
The letter is impressive.
Drummond could also have addressed his concerns over the right action from the Texas court and the replacement judge appointed to the case in Ken Curry. Curry was desgnated to hear and decide on the case after Phillip Hays recused himself. Hays is a Texas Tech donor, season ticket holder, and has two degrees, under graduate and juris doctorate from Texas Tech University.
Now, some may speculate that Drummond, also a decorated Air Force pilot that flew the F-15C Eagle and took part in the first combat mission of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991, is grandstanding for political purpose. That is not the case as Drummond is an Oklahoma State graduate and supporter that cares about the welfare of the school and its’ athletic programs.
