For more than a century, there has been just one unforgivable sin in pro and college sports. Over that long span, those sports have forgiven all sorts of felons, scoundrels and lowlifes and allowed them to return to the game.

The only transgression that meant permanent banishment was sports gambling.

The precedent for that came in 1919, when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the World Series in exchange for payments from a notorious gambling syndicate. Although the players were acquitted, all eight were permanently banned from the game. The message: When athletes and coaches bet on sports, it calls into serious question the integrity of the game and erodes public trust that the games aren’t fixed. It cannot be tolerated or excused.

That explains why former Cincinnati Reds player and manager Pete Rose was placed on baseball’s permanently ineligible list in 1989 after evidence emerged he had bet on baseball games, including games involving the Reds. For decades, that also barred him from Hall of Fame consideration.

College sports, especially basketball, has banned dozens of players over the years for point shaving intended to aid gamblers betting on point spreads.

In 2007, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was banned from officiating after being caught in a major gambling scandal in which it was proven he had received thousands of dollars from gamblers in exchange for insider game information.

All those precedents appear to have been swept away last week, when Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, previously declared ineligible by the NCAA for betting more than $90,000 on sports — including wagers involving his own team while he was at Indiana — challenged the NCAA’s eligibility rules. A Lubbock County District Court judge granted a temporary injunction allowing Sorsby to return for the 2026 season after serving a two-game suspension. The ruling cited potential irreparable injury to the athlete’s career and valid legal claims, including breach of contract and fiduciary duty tied to a name, image and likeness deal reportedly worth $5 million.

The court also restricted the NCAA’s ability to enforce its “Rule of Restitution,” a move that could significantly limit its enforcement authority. The NCAA has appealed, arguing the ruling undermines sports integrity.

A trial has been set for Feb. 8, 2027, which means Sorsby will be allowed to play the 2026 season. Every fumble, every poor throw, every interception by Sorsby will immediately call into question the legitimacy of the game.

Whether Sorsby’s case will be remembered as a major precedent or simply as an outlier will likely depend on the outcome of that trial.

This case isn’t just a legal anomaly. It is a symptom of a broader commercial shift where sports gambling is unavoidable.

The U.S. commercial sports betting industry generated $16.89 billion in revenue in 2025. Americans legally wagered nearly $167 billion on sports that year through sportsbooks, with other platforms such as Kalshi moving sports betting into prediction markets.

These companies spend millions on advertising during televised games, creating a conflict of interest for television networks and their contracts with pro and college sports. The networks are operating within a landscape where gambling revenue is now a standard, expected component of the broadcast model.

Then there is the human toll that sports gambling represents, perhaps the greatest cost of all. Gambling can become an addiction and, like any addiction, it can ruin lives.

For more than a century, pro and college sports have been able to keep the gambling genie in the lamp.

Now that it is loose, it’s anyone’s guess where it all will lead.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

READER FAVORITES

• 

  Our View: In the beginning, there was Weyerhaeuser

  By Dispatch Editorial Board • 1 day ago