Less than 24 hours after Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby checked into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction — casting his future eligibility with the Red Raiders into doubt — the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions released violations and updates on two separate sports betting violation investigations.
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Two athletes involved across the two investigations did not cooperate with the NCAA's investigations, the organization revealed, resulting in Level I violations.
The student-athletes mentioned include former Kennesaw State guard Simeon Cottle and former Fordham players Elijah Gray and Will Richardson. None of the three athletes is currently a member of their respective school's basketball programs. They are not currently competing in an NCAA-regulated sport.
Both Gray and Richardson are connected with a February 2024 game in which a bettor placed a $10,000 wager. In the NCAA's release, Gray admitted in an interview that he exchanged messages with one of the known bettors, and that he and Richardson participated in a call with the bettor and a former NBA player who was involved in the scheme. Gray said both players agreed to lose the game in exchange for $10,000-$15,000 in payments each.
The NCAA's release said Gray told the organization he ultimately reversed course and "said he played with his normal effort" in that game. He finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting for Fordham, which was a 3.5-point underdog. Gray told the NCAA the bettor called after the game to express disappointment, at which point Gray cut off communication with him. Gray also said he didn't receive any payment from the bettor.
He also acknowledged violating ethical conduct rules by providing information to a known bettor, and "expressed remorse for his actions."
Gray said the former NBA player continued to communicate with Richardson, who denied his partaking in the scheme and failed to cooperate "with the investigation by knowingly providing false information during an interview and failing to preserve the integrity of the investigation."
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Gray was dismissed from the Wisconsin basketball team in October due to "events preceding his enrollment at UW-Madison," as noted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. He spent the 2024-25 season at Temple.
Cottle was indicted by the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in January for wire fraud and bribery charges surrounding Kennesaw State's game versus Queens (New York) on March 1, 2024. Similar to Richardson, Cottle, who was suspended from the Owls, did not cooperate with the NCAA's investigation.
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Texas Tech announced on Monday that Sorsby was leaving the program to check into a residential treatment program for gambling addiction.
Sorsby, who transferred from Cincinnati this past offseason, is under NCAA investigation after reportedly making "thousands" of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app, which includes bets on Indiana during his true freshman season as a Hoosier in 2022.
USA TODAY Sports' Matt Hayes reported Monday through two people with direct knowledge of the situation that the Cincinnati athletic department was alerted in August that Sorsby was gambling before the start of the 2025 season. The Bearcats had "no comment at this time" when reached out by USA TODAY Sports, and Sorsby has made "mostly small, $1 bets" on various sports at various times.
The NCAA prohibits student-athletes and athletics department staff members from making bets and/or sharing information with bettors on college sports.
USA TODAY Sports' Matt Hayes contributed to this story.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA flags Level I violations in college basketball betting investigations
