A day after his client withdrew his NCAA eligibility case, with the Big 12 threatening sanctions, the agent for former Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby said the blame should be placed on Cincinnati.
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas-Fort Worth, Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, said: “If anybody should be questioned or catching heat, it should be Cincinnati, because they knew for two years and never said anything or didn’t do anything about it. That’s the part of the story that gets lost.”
In court documents, the only evidence involving Cincinnati is an August 2024 incident involving the ProhiBet app on Sorsby’s phone, where he was trying to access Prize Picks, a prediction market. UC compliance investigated and found Sorsby was denied access to the app; therefore, did not gamble.
UC compliance gave him educational assignments as required. In an interview last week, UC head football coach Scott Satterfield said the negativity of gambling is continually discussed.
“We educate our players on the dos and don’ts of gambling through our compliance department,” Satterfield said. “It is mentioned periodically each semester, minimum every two weeks. We’ve brought in speakers. We’ve done all the things you have to do to fight against this. We have to make our players aware of what’s going on. If anything ever pops up, we’re going to be right on top of it through our compliance department.”
Among Sorsby’s college bets were Indiana football and basketball, and he did admit to some bets on Cincinnati basketball, transferring funds to make them. At Texas Tech, he transferred $5,000 to friends to bet on apps on MLB, NBA and the PGA. Online gambling is not permitted in Texas and it’s a violation to bet on anything where the NCAA has a championship.
With word of Slavin’s allegations out after the radio interview, the University of Cincinnati issued the following statement on Wednesday afternoon, June 17:
We will reiterate what we have said before. All of our student-athletes receive extensive gambling education multiple times throughout the year, and we would never knowingly play an athlete who violated NCAA sports wagering regulations. If we ever became aware of impermissible wagering, we would report to the NCAA and comply with sanctions.
Sorsby’s next move is to apply for the NFL Supplemental Draft by June 22. Slavin also said in his June 17 radio interview that 22 general managers and scouting directors reached out to him a day after Sorsby and Texas Tech switched gears, and four more called that morning (June 17).
“I mean, the questions are just, you know, ‘What really happened here?’” Slavin said on 105.3 The Fan. “Because I will give the NFL credit there. The media can give people, you know, an opinion but it isn’t the tell-all. So they’re gonna do their due diligence. They all have companies that work for them that can, you know, find out everything they need to find out anyway. The reality is most of the questions, you know, are, ‘What does he weigh in? What would he run?’ You know, it’s more football-related than the character stuff just because, again, they’re gonna do their digging on that side of it.”
Sorsby has a tentative NFL Pro Day set for Southlake Carroll High School outside of Dallas July 10.
UC’s Satterfield believes there will be takers for the 6-foot-3, 235-pound 22-year-old who threw for 5,613 yards and 45 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions in two seasons with the Cincinnati Bearcats. In those two seasons, he also ran for 1,027 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Bearcats were 12-12 with Sorsby at quarterback, but 0-for-November in eight contests.
“Even before this stuff hit, 32 teams came to our campus and a lot of them were inquiring at that point,” Satterfield said. “He could have come out and potentially been an NFL draft pick (in April). There’s going to be teams that will be very interested in him. He’s very talented, has great size and can run, can throw. If you look at the history of the NFL, there’s guys that have made mistakes and they still have taken chances on them. “
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats counter claim made by Brendan Sorsby’s agent on talk radio
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
