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Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire defends Brendan Sorsby amid gambling addiction recovery: 'It’s not murder; it’s not beating somebody'

The same day Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt released a statement, voicing his department’s support for beleaguered quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire defended Sorsby at a luncheon at the Houston Touchdown Club.

Making his first public appearance since Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction by a Lubbock County (Texas) judge that allows him to take the field during the 2026 season despite previously being ruled ineligible by the NCAA for gambling, McGuire answered questions from a throng at the Omni Galleria on Wednesday.

The Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte reported that, although a news conference is typically held before each college coach speaks at the Houston Touchdown Club, McGuire canceled his. He began his remarks explaining that he’d take inquiries from “Texas Tech fans,” per Duarte.

An attendee in the crowd asked if there’s anything that, from this point forward, can prevent Sorsby from playing for the Red Raiders this season.

“Brendan Sorsby is recovering from an addiction,” McGuire said, via SportsTalk 790’s Chris Gordy. “He's recovering. I've sat down with this young man multiple times. The things that he is going through and what he's been through is serious.”

Sorsby wagered approximately $90,000 on professional and college sports over four years, even placing at least 40 Indiana football-related bets when he was a member of the Hoosiers in 2022. His gambling continued at Cincinnati and, most recently, Texas Tech, where he’s transferred throughout his college career, as reported by ESPN.

This spring, he reportedly spent 35 days in an in-patient Arizona rehabilitation program for diagnosed gambling and anxiety disorders. He’s poised to sit out the first two games of the season as a condition of the injunction he received to compete during the 2026 campaign. Those games are against FCS Abilene Christian and Oregon State.

Once Sorsby, 22, was granted the injunction, the NCAA formally filed an appeal in Lubbock County, except the ensuing formal judicial case could wind up occurring after the season, in which case it’s legal ruling would esssentially be obsolete.

McGuire explained Wednesday, though, that Sorsby’s return-to-play timeline isn’t set in stone.

“I have a number of people in my family that were addicted to different stuff, and so I've seen what addiction does to people,” McGuire said, via Gordy.

“And so us even saying to the point before we get to the legal part that he can be ready Week 3 against Houston is still a stretch because guess what? He's still recovering. You don't necessarily know between now and then exactly. Do I see a different person? I know it sounds crazy, but I do. Do I see a kid that feels like he's got a thousand pounds of weight lifted off of him? He's made the statement that he feels like this is a moment that can actually change his life.”

McGuire is entering his fifth season at the helm of the program. Last time around, with one of the most hefty NIL war chests in the country, he led a talent-laden roster to 12 wins and Texas Tech’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.

He’s now preparing for a season full of uncertainty, particularly in the quarterback room, where another player is also recovering. Will Hammond is working his way back from the ACL tear in his right knee that cut his season short last year.

Hammond suffered the injury while filling in for Behren Morton. Texas Tech is hoping Hammond will be back in time for Week 1 this season so he can lead the offense in Sorsby’s absence.

Sorbsy totaled 36 touchdowns last season at Cincinnati. The dual-threat signal-caller has drawn considerable NFL interest and, before his gambling addiction surfaced, was widely regarded as a Heisman hopeful.

At the moment, he’s focused on improving his mental health. McGuire said Wednesday that Sorsby is surrounded by mentors and mentioned the “amount of technology” on Sorsby’s devices to monitor his behavior.

“He has a person that’s over every single penny that he has,” McGuire said. “The steps in place for him even to get to the points where we can get him playing, there’s a lot of stuff to go through.”

That said, the clip from McGuire’s comments that made the rounds online Wednesday was one SEC Network pundit Paul Finebaum posted to X.

Here’s the full quote, according to Duarte:

“For some reason, as a society, we’ve been OK with other things that happen and allowing players to play, and this has been the one thing that has united people, that that they were against,” McGuire said. “It’s crazy because it’s not murder, it’s not beating somebody — so there’s a lot of things that we’re working through. None of this is OK.”

Those words have raised the ire of several fans. Sorsby’s injunction sent shockwaves through the sports world earlier this week, with many objecting to the district court decision and expressing their frustration with the lack of regulation in college athletics, and, by extension, the powerlessness of the NCAA.

Despite Texas Tech’s efforts on Wednesday, that paroxysm of rage hasn’t stopped.

McGuire emphasized Wednesday that he entered coaching for kids and to help people in general.

He’s not wavering in his support for Sorsby.

“He’s the first person to tell you that it’s his fault,” McGuire said, via Gordy. “He chose to do this. But if you know anything about addiction, there’s a point that you choose it and then, all of a sudden, you don’t choose it anymore.

“[It’s] not something that you can do by yourself to get past where you’re at. So I would never turn my back on him. We’re still working through a lot of stuff.”

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