Joey McGuire needs to stop commenting on Brendan Sorsby saga

In his iconic song, The Gambler, the late country singer Kenny Rogers gave sage advice when he sang the famous lines, "You got to know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run." Those are words Texas Tech football head coach Joey McGuire should take to heart when it comes to the Brendan Sorsby situation, which he is still more than willing to discuss with the media.

The latest instance of McGuire voicing his opinion on the way Sorsby's eligibility saga played out following the revelation that he had gambled on college football and even on his own team while at Indiana came Monday. McGuire appeared on Yahoo Sports Daily with Jason Fitz and Caroline Fenton, and he didn't hold back when asked about the Sorsby controversy.

""It's amazing," he said, "that there are gonna be people playing this year, they're gonna be suspended for X amount of games, and Brendan Sorsby is gonna have to sit out."

McGuire went on to say that he still supports Sorsby as a person, and that Sorsby has even been around the team facility in recent days. McGuire pointed out that Sorsby is an addict, and then he went on to highlight what he feels is a double-standard in the way Sorsby has been treated.

"For some reason," he said, "that addiction, I guess, is ok in the eyes of everyone else; that gambling's not an addiction. It is...I hate it for him that he's having to sit out. But I know he's going to use this to his advantage to become a better person."

It would be in Texas Tech's best interest for McGuire to stop talking about Sorsby

If there was ever a situation that Texas Tech needs to move on from as a university and as an athletic program, it would be the Sorsby mess. However, McGuire continues to speak his mind and take a defiant posture when asked about it.

We can all admire that he is standing up for one of his players. In fact, that is what he should do. However, he doesn't need to keep acting as if Sorsby's gambling is the same type of sports sin as those committed by other players who are suspended for whatever reason.

There is no way to argue that Sorsby's actions while at Indiana were harmful to the integrity of college football. A player simply can't bet on his own team (even if he bets for his team to win). That is crossing a line that we as a sports society have deemed unforgivable.

So for McGuire to continue to thumb his nose at the college football world by trying to compare the Sorsby punishment to the sentences handed out to players who are disciplined for other off-field actions makes it appear that he still isn't over his anger toward how the nation responded as Tech stood behind Sorsby.

The Sorsby saga ended in June when he and Tech mutually decided that he would not be part of the 2026 team. So why is McGuire still throwing jabs in Sorsby's defense in late August?

There is no benefit to Texas Tech in continuing to try to litigate this case in the media. It is over. Texas Tech and Sorsby lost in the court of public opinion, which is often the most important court there is. Now, the best course of action for McGuire to take is to keep the focus on new starting QB Will Hammond and the rest of the players who are going to be sporting the Double T this fall.

McGuire is going to be asked about Sorsby until games start and the media has something new to chew on. However, just because he's asked doesn't mean he still needs to stand up for a player that the rest of the sports world has judged to be in the wrong.

We all know McGuire and Texas Tech support Sorsby. The university made that clear in the much-criticized round-table video featuring McGuire and other athletic department dignitaries, which was released days after Sorsby was given only a two-game suspension by a Texas judge.

Now, McGuire needs to stop trying to die on this hill. No good can come from him repeatedly taking a defiant stance. Sometimes, you just have to know when the cards in your hand aren't playable and walk away from the table.

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