Is this the worst PR crisis video ever made? In this video posted on X by @TechAthletics, the powers that be at this university try their best to justify why QB transfer Brendan Sorsby, despite admitting to betting approximately $90,000 on college football games, should still be eligible to play this upcoming season. Left to right: Sr. Associate Athletics Director/Health and Wellness Grant Stovall, University President Lawrence Schovanec, Head Football Coach Joey McGuire, Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt, and Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations and Strategic Communications Robert Giovannetti. Photo screen captured from @TechAthletics X account
Do you want to see PR at its worst?
Then watch this video produced by Texas Tech University officials, making the case that quarterback transfer Brendan Sorsby deserves to play football this upcoming season, despite admitting to placing approximately $90,000 in bets on college football.
The NCAA rule is very clear: if a college football player bets on the sport, he’s ineligible to play. Period.
Texas Tech, a member of the Big 12 Conference, will suffer long-term damage for this video and their stand (and blatant spin) upon this matter.
In my opinion, their reputation and Sorsby’s is toast for the foreseeable future.
Their response to a major PR crisis was an epic failure.
This is the classic example of putting what you want above doing what’s right.
Fortunately, for the integrity of college football, the latter eventually prevailed.
The opposition grew so fast and so loud that Sorsby decided on June 15 to withdraw from the team and enter the NFL supplemental draft.
Good choice, but he should’ve made it much earlier.
The Texas Tech video: Pure, Unadulterated PR Spin
In this video, you’ll see five individuals from Texas Tech: Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations and Strategic Communications Robert Giovannetti (sounds like their head PR person to me), Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt, Head Football Coach Joey McGuire, University President Lawrence Schovanec, and Sr. Associate Athletics Director/Health and Wellness Grant Stovall.
As you watch this, you can immediately tell they all drank a massive quantity of the PR spin Kool-Aid®.
In addressing Red Raider Nation, Giovannetti’s opening statement says it all: “Red Raider fans, we know you’re hearing a lot, you’re seeing a lot on social media — a lot of noise about the Red Raiders; a lot of noise about Brendan Sorsby. So we thought, what better way to address these things than to come to you with the people that have the answers — people here at Texas Tech that know the true story, know what’s happening, and can clear out some of the points that may have been garbled in all of the social media news over the last few days.”
Here’s what Schovanec said when he was asked, “What is the issue we are addressing as a university?“
“Well, I think everybody should realize that first and foremost our decisions in this matter have been guided by a conviction we have at Texas Tech, and that is we stand by and support our students. Now, Brendan made a mistake. We acknowledge that. Mistakes have consequences. At the same time, here’s a young man with a dream and a vision to pursue a career. And we felt not to have the opportunity to pursue that career — given the circumstances and the evolving changes in this world that these athletes face — was unfair and unjust. So, we are attending first of all to his medically diagnosed condition and we are prepared to support him as he pursues that career that he spent his whole life working toward. That’s what we do at Texas Tech. And as a parent and a leader in higher ed, I would ask that you look beyond the athletics issue in here and look to the individual who has been the center of this whole matter.”
He also mentioned their center for addition and recovery is a national model for other universities and “speaks to the sincerity of our actions in this matter. We’re doing this for Brendan, but we do this for all students.”
Wow. Did they really think people were going to buy that as a reason to ignore consequences?
Then Giovannetti turns to Hocutt and says this ties into the No. 1 guiding principle of the athletic department, “do the right thing.”
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Are you KIDDING me?? Yes, it’s right to help others who need support for making bad choices, but removing the consequences is NOT “the right thing.” And ultimately, receiving consequences helps the person even if they’re painful at the time.
Look at the comments to this X post. That’s all you need to know whether or not the public felt what was said in this video was authentic, honest and believable:
This feels icky.
It’s illegal. Consequences are already established. No one can trust you now.
If you need to do this much PR, you’re probably the one that [messed] up.
A 20-minute video explaining why their QB who illegally placed bets on games his team was playing in is totally cool to play this season…this might be one of the most tone-deaf and pathetic videos on the internet right now.
It’s to[sic] late. The PR nightmare can’t be saved now. Good try.
But this photo in the comments section may be the best reaction of them all:
The talking points of their faulty PR strategy were:
- We need to support our students and put consequences for bad decisions mostly on the back burner.
- It’s a different world we live in and the rules governing the NCAA are old.
- Sorsby has a medically diagnosed condition, you should feel sorry for him to the point that….
- …we shouldn’t do anything that would prohibit Sorsby from realizing his future dreams.
The Offensive PR Offensive
All Sorsby had to do when this story first broke shortly after he committed to Texas Tech was immediately accept the consequence of no longer being eligible to play college football and move on. Instead, this blew up beyond belief and essentially became the world against Sorsby and Texas Tech.
Here’s a brief summary of the series of PR missteps that occurred, likely driven by the desire to do whatever it takes to win.
- Sorsby lawyered up. Using his own money, and independent of Texas Tech, he hired one of the top attorneys to represent him.
- The lawyer based his defense on Sorsby being medically diagnosed with an illness, and that he has gone through rehab, and banning him from the sport would cause undue mental harm and hurt his career.
- An independent judge filed an injunction against the NCAA, reinstating Sorsby’s eligibility to play this upcoming season (after a two-game suspension against cupcake opponents). This ruling, had it stood, would have set a disastrous precedent for college sports.
- Texas Tech rallies behind and leans into this ruling.
- The Texas Attorney General warns the Big 12 Conference not to punish Texas Tech, or the conference will be sued.
- The University of Cincinnati, Sorsby’s last school and also a Big 12 member, apparently knew about his gambling addiction for two years and didn’t say or do anything about it. They should be called out too for their lack of ethics.
The Big 12 Conference’s Brilliant Move
The 16-team Big 12 Conference (yeah, I know, the name doesn’t jive with the number of conference members) Commissioner Brent Yormark wasn’t going to let Texas Tech get away with this.
After meeting with all the conference athletic directors and university presidents for their advice, Yormark hired a top law firm and sued Texas Tech (yes, its own conference member!). The Big 12 felt it had the right to enforce its own rules.
Shortly after this lawsuit was filed, Sorsby realized it was a battle he wasn’t going to win.
On top of it all, college teams nationwide were planning to cancel all games in all sports with Texas Tech and not schedule any new ones. The University of Michigan had already canceled a volleyball game against Texas Tech.
And all Texas Tech had to do to nip this in the bud was abide by the NCAA rule that players who gamble are ineligible.
This is why it’s important to decide upon your values ahead of time so that when you’re faced with a decision like this, it’s easy to make.
However, if you have a skewed definition of “the right thing,” then there’s little hope your values will do you any good.
It’s wonderful and the right thing to support a student who has an addiction like gambling. But by not letting the student learn that choices have consequences doesn’t do him any good.
In the end, Sorsby — except for a tarnished image — comes out a winner because he gets to keep the $5 million from the NIL (name, image, likeness) contract he received from Texas Tech and get a shot at the NFL.
I sincerely hope he learns from this experience, overcomes his gambling addiction, and finds success and happiness in the years to come.
Why is Gambling Being Mainstreamed?
The other question that needs to be addressed here is why have we not only legalized this kind of gambling, but also let it become so mainstream, so much the norm? Why are sports podcasts accepting advertising from gambling firms?
How much is this affecting decisions athletes make when it comes to gambling?
Odds are you’ll never catch me gambling.
Running my own business is enough of a gamble.
The 3 Big Takeaways
- Decide your values ahead of time.
- Be committed to doing the right thing.
- Help those who need help, and let consequences be a learning moment.
How do you think Texas Tech handled this PR crisis? Do share!
Stay authentic, and don’t fumble when it comes to doing the right thing!
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for his clients.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s also accredited in public relations (APR). This Milwaukee, Wisconsin native holds an Italian citizenship and plans to live and work there someday. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies Italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, works out, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves as an assistant communication director in his church, watches BYU football, enjoys watching the original Mission Impossible TV series, and plays board games (mostly Dominion and Seven Wonders). No, this guy’s never bored and looking for something to do. Email Jeff.
