Bullet point summary by AI
- Brendan Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, accused Cincinnati of hiding the QB’s gambling addiction for two years while he actively played.
- Slavin claims Texas Tech is being unfairly blamed, while Cincinnati fielded an ineligible player who bet on his own team.
- The scandal challenges NCAA gambling enforcement and may prompt legal scrutiny for Cincinnati as Sorsby enters the NFL draft.
The Brendan Sorsby controversy appears to be over … for Texas Tech at least. Sorsby’s former program, the University of Cincinnati, is now squarely in the crosshairs after his agent, Ron Slavin, took to the airwaves to make some serious allegations.
“The people I feel worse for besides Brendan is Texas Tech. I think where they messed up was they talked too much,” Slavin told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday. “If anybody should be questioned or be catching heat it should be Cincinnati because they knew [about his gambling addiction] for 2 years and never said anything.”
Sorsby’s agent Ron Slavin: “The people I feel worse for besides Brendan is Texas Tech. I think where they messed up was they talked too much. If anybody should be questioned or be catching heat it should be Cincinnati because they knew for 2 years and never said anything…” pic.twitter.com/QrMnyKeEkO
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) June 17, 2026
Sorsby admitted to wagering thousands of times while a student-athlete, including multiple bets on his own team, which he blamed on a medically diagnosed gambling addiction. He was ruled ineligible by the NCAA but sparked major controversy by challenging the decision in court.
Slavin’s sympathy for Texas Tech is questionable at best considering he was probably involved in advising Sorsby to pursue a ludicrous legal ruling to avoid punishment for breaking NCAA anti-sports gambling rules. However, his allegations toward Cincinnati raise some questions that should be seriously considered.
Will Cincinnati be scrutinized over Brendan Sorsby gambling addiction?
If the Bearcats program truly was aware of Sorsby’s addiction—which spanned as far back as his freshman year at Indiana—there does need to be a full inquiry. Not only would the team and school be liable for enabling him, the NCAA should have grounds to punish the football program for hiding severe violations of its sports gambling regulations.
Cincinnati could be in worse trouble than Texas Tech if the allegations are proven true because they actually fielded a player that broke the rules and gambled on games. That would arguably rise above Pete Rose and Chicago Black Sox level of controversy.
With Sorsby deciding to end this saga and apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft in July, Texas Tech should be done talking (you’d hope). That’ll, in theory, open a vacuum for Slavin’s accusations to fill if enough people (and the right people) are talking about them. Cincinnati’s legal and PR department should be preparing for a full-on defense regardless of the validity of the allegations.
The Sorsby saga is far from over. It’ll have serious reverberations throughout the sport and potentially the legal world, considering the Big 12 was prepared to utilize federal court to penalize Texas Tech had Sorsby stayed. If Cincinnati gets dragged into it, there could be even more to come.
This could be a necessary episode in the ever-changing landscape of college sports. Teams, conferences and players will have to look to Sorsby as the unfortunate example of where the limits of forgiveness are. Cincinnati and Texas Tech may be additional examples should they be proven complicit as well.
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