"Mark In Austin" is my legal eagle on this site (he was in UT law school when I was in UT grad school, though we didn't know each other). Here are some arguments a good lawyer would make to try to get this down to a partial suspension. What do you think Mark?
This will be heard initially in Lubbock and if you think that doesn't mean a more favorable court you haven't paid attention to what took place in places like Tennessee and Mississippi the past few years.
1) The "bet on your team and you are banned forever" rule came into effect in 2023 (I think), but the gambling we admit to occurred in 2022 (I think I got the years right).
2) The bets were minuscule, just a few bucks (I think I read $2 to $50?) so what's the big deal? And he always bet on Indiana to win, so he lost most of the time.
3) Mr. Sorsby was not even playing, he was taking a redshirt season, so his actions could not have had any possible effect on the outcome. This is not like a point shaving scandal.
4) He suffers from a "clinically diagnosed" gambling disorder, which is "a mental health condition." He is undergoing treatment for this mental health condition as we speak.
5) The NCAA profits from gambling sites even while penalizing student-athletes while issuing an ever-changing list of what's allowed. For example recently they OKed betting on pro sports like football, before changing their minds.
6) He stands to lose almost $6 million in NIL funds if he is not allowed to compete, causing him irreparable harm.
7) Sites that went into this matter in more depth than ESPN say Kessler will bring up something like the NCAA can't regulate the conduct of players like this since they are just students, not employees of the schools. This "employees" argument seems to be some third rail for the universities and they quiver in fear when a savvy attorney threatens to use it. This might be what causes the NCAA to look for an off-ramp and go for a lengthy suspension but not for the full year.
Not saying he should get off, a life-time ban seems fair to me, but he has an excellent lawyer who has run circles around the NCAA and I would not be surprised if he gets it reduced to a partial suspension.
What do you think Mark?