UGA AD took step ‘no one else was willing to take,’ renowned sports lawyer says

ATHENS — Josh Brooks’ move for Georgia to boycott scheduling Texas Tech in any sports in the wake of the Brendan Sorsby eligibility case has resonated across the collegiate landscape and beyond.

“This is one of those examples of when you find out who the true leaders are,” said Tom Mars, an accomplished NCAA trial attorney, and a former general counsel, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Walmart.

“It’s a moment where a leader has to make a decision and they choose the high road, the road to maintain integrity protecting the reputation of an institution and protecting all of the athletes under their care, and Josh delivered 100 percent.”

Brooks’ move came after a Texas judge granted Sorsby a temporary injunction that will allow him to play this season despite the NCAA ruling him ineligible the week before for gambling violations.

Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech after last season, admitted to wagering nearly $100,000, including bets involving his own team while playing for Indiana.

The case served as the latest — and most blatant — example of how courtrooms have trumped NCAA, leaving collegiate sports’ governing body powerless to enforce its rules.

It led the normally camera-shy Brooks to take it upon himself to make an unprecedented stand that could prove to be of historic proportion, as he declared Georgia would not compete against Texas Tech.

“Josh took the step no one else was willing to take, and now other people are starting to speak up,” said Mars, adding that he, himself, was shocked by the outcome of the Sorsby case in the Texas courtroom.

Nebraska has also said it will not schedule Texas, and other schools and conferences are publicly discussing following suit, galvanized by their objections to the ruling.

“You’ve got to draw the line somewhere,” Brooks told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday, asked about why he chose to make such an unprecedented move.

“If college sports doesn’t draw the line here, then when? What’s next?”

In the immediate, it’s hard to know how things will play out for Texas Tech and Sorsby, who is not expected to play until the Red Raiders Big 12 opener against Houston on Sept. 18 after the Lubbock judge imposed a two-game suspension.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said Monday “the ramifications of today’s ruling are significant and could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership,” and held a meeting with the conference’s athletic directors on Tuesday that he told On3 were “thoughtful and productive.”

The NCAA issued a statement objecting to the ruling and filed an accelerated appeal to the Court of Appeals in the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo according to published reports.

Per a KCBD report, all four justices in that court graduated from Texas Tech University School of Law, and the final trial date in Lubbock has been set for the week of Feb. 8, 2027.

Brooks, who oversaw the memo to UGA staff not to schedule any future contests against Texas Tech and notify leadership if there are any contests already scheduled, said his first responsibility is to his student-athletes.

“I’ve got to be able to look my young men and young women in the face and say that we’re playing under a fair set of of standard rules that we’ve all agreed to,” Brooks said on a podcast with former UGA All-American David Pollack.

“That’s my responsibly, and I hope others do the same.”

UGA president Jere Morehead, who has been among the most outspoken on the need for rules clarity and enforcement, left no doubt about his take on Brooks’ drastic action.

“I fully support our Athletic Director’s commitment to preserving the integrity of college athletics and standing against players betting on college games,” Morehead said in a statement released to the AJC.

Several other coaches and conference leaders have spoken out since Brooks’ discussed boycotting the Red Raiders program, including TCU coach and former Texas Tech athlete Sonny Dykes.

“You would hope that there would be someone at some point that says, ‘Hey look, this is not a good thing for the game and I care enough about the game to not let this happen,’” Dykes told ESPN.

“I think it’s sad that these adults and people who are supposed to guide college football aren’t guiding it. I think it’s a shame. Everyone is looking out for their self-interests. No one is looking out for what’s right in college football.”

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips agreed, saying the ruling represents a “horrendous pattern …. eroding the integrity of our process.”

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin put Sorsby’s offense into historical perspective.

“As someone who grew up reading about the Black Sox Scandal, and seeing what happened to Pete Rose and just understanding how bright that line seemed to be in all of American sports, I’m stunned that there would be a question at the court level that this is acceptable,” Stricklin told ESPN.

“That’s not a judgment on the young man. It’s just that was a pretty fundamental tenet of American sports, that if you’re going to participate, you can’t gamble, especially on your own team.”