FRISCO, TX – This is the biggest media event of the year for the Big 12 Conference – Big 12 football media days at the Star with an audience of hundreds of reporters. But Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark shut down questions about the Big 12’s biggest offseason story when asked about it Tuesday July 7.
“Today is not the time to address that issue,” Yormark said. “Today is about celebrating the upcoming football season and celebrating our 16 schools.”
That issue is the Big 12’s conflict with Big 12 member Texas Tech over its handling of the gambling violations involving Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby. The league even has a lawsuit still pending against Tech about it.
At one point, Yormark even accused a reporter of misquoting him when challenged about Sorsby.
The reporter had noted how the Big 12 previously sold the notion of being “greater than 12” when promoting the league’s 16 teams – a notion that might seem at odds with the league suing one of its own members. The same reporter noted Cincinnati, another Big 12 team, didn’t get in trouble for playing Sorsby despite indications that the school knew about his gambling violations, which Cincinnati has denied.