Paul Finebaum painted a bleak picture for college football after a judge granted Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby an injunction allowing him to play this season.
The NCAA suspended Sorsby for betting on college sports, including on Indiana football games during his time with the program. Monday's shocking ruling clears the way for him to return after serving a two-game suspension to start the season.
Finebaum joined a vocal group of critics when chastising the decision on Tuesday's Get Up.
"College sports went to DEFCON 1 yesterday," Finebaum said. "And that's rare, because the sport has gone so low in so many different circumstances. Everyone but Texas Tech officials was in unanimous agreement that this was one of the worst rulings. Forget whether college players get paid and all the things that go along with it. This is about the integrity of what happens on a Saturday afternoon."
"College sports is in trouble"
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Finebaum called Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark the "only one left that can stop this" after claiming that Yormark's statement on the situation "really didn't say anything."
"He can declare Sorsby ineligible," Finebaum said. "Yes, it would be litigated, but at least somebody would stand up. Until now, no one has really done anything, especially this court in Texas."
College football programs are reportedly threatening to "boycott" games with Texas Tech to protest the Sorsby ruling. Finebaum envisioned "mass chaos" if teams followed through on skipping games against the Red Raiders.
"It's really about the university. Texas Tech is the culprit here," Finebaum declared. "They have agreed and supported Sorsby in this case, and they're the ones who probably should say, 'We're not going through with it,' But I don't think that these schools who say they won't play them will are gonna fare very well, because ultimately the Big 12 has to make a determination if that game is scheduled."
The ESPN analyst suggested that the Sorsby situation could have massive ramifications that jeopardize the sanctity of college football.
"College sports is in trouble right now," Finebaum said. "An AD said yesterday that this ruling has cost the sport its soul. Not true. The sport lost its soul a long time ago. And this just simply exposes ... college sports is a house of cards, and it is crashing. And the one thing that could damage what we all enjoy on Saturday is the integrity of the game. This is now in play."
