Somebody blinked.
Texas Tech lost the battle in the courtroom of public opinion when they thought sports fans outside Lubbock, Texas would empathize with a player fighting a mental health demon fighting against the NCAA. Instead, they found a public who felt bad for the QB and also wanted the same QB to feel the consequences for his actions.
At the end of the day, pressure from the Big 12 office and the conference’s athletic directors and head coaches likely forced the Red Raiders’ hand to negotiate an exit based on mutually agreeable terms and an air-tight non-disclosure agreement.
When public opinion is on the NCAA’s side, you know you’re going to lose in the end.
This has been a story this blog must cover but oh how I wish this was not a story to be covered. The hypocrisy of the head of the BOR for a major school lamenting how screwed up CFB is but then throwing his hands up and stating that’s just the way it is and we’re just playing along epitomizes the complete lack of control those in charge have over each other and themselves. You don’t HAVE to recruit the kid from the portal. You don’t HAVE to pay millions in NIL. You don’t HAVE to sit idly by while lawsuits fly and just cross your fingers it all works out. But they do…for the chil…errr….money.