New Lawsuit Against NCAA Puts Betting Rules Under Scrutiny

College football player Roy Alexander has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA after the association issued a six-game suspension for violating betting rules.

Alexander admitted to placing bets while playing for Albany and Incarnate Word between 2023 and 2025. He then transferred to Texas Tech, the same team that signed Brendon Sorsby in January this year, before switching back to Incarnate Word.

Sorsby never actually played for Texas Tech as news broke of his own gambling. The quarterback transferred to the college on January 4, a day before Alexander left the team. Even though they did not play together, Alexander may have drawn inspiration from the lawsuit Sorsby filed against the NCAA.

The league made Sorsby permanently ineligible for his betting violations, but a Texas judge granted the player a temporary injunction, which would have allowed him to play this season. Amid strong backlash across the country, he withdrew the lawsuit and declared for the NFL, but the league elected not to hold a supplemental draft.

Six-Game Suspension Overly Harsh, Claims Lawsuit

Alexander may hope to secure a similar judgment in his case, which would reduce the suspension in his final year of eligibility.

The lawsuit argues that a six-game ban is overly harsh given he did not wager on on any games involving his own teams. This, therefore, did not impact the integrity of the games. A judge granted Sorsby an injunction even though he placed many more bets, including on matches involving his own team.

Alexander’s case is far less severe, his lawyers argued in the lawsuit. He also stopped betting of his own volition and accepted responsibility.

“While Roy has taken accountability for his actions, ceasing to stop wagering on his own, the [NCAA] dealt him a six-game suspension, which is wholly unreasonable in light of the conduct,” the suit states.

NCAA Stands By Betting Ban

The NCAA briefly changed its gambling rules last year, allowing players to wager on professional sports. However, colleges voted against relaxing the rules, and the league reinstated a full ban on betting.

College athletes are therefore strictly prohibited from betting on any professional or college sports. The NCAA said it will continue to enforce the rules and not accept any violations.

“The Association stands by these rules — which were recently upheld and supported by the majority of Division I schools — and we will continue to defend against threats to avoid accountability and undermine these common sense standards,” the NCAA said in a statement to ESPN.

NCAA Targeted By Student Lawsuits

Alexander’s lawsuit is the latest in a long line of legal actions filed by students against the NCAA. Law professor Melinda Roth told CasinoBeats that the Sorsby ruling added to the “continued decline of the organization’s authority.”

Roth notes that the NCAA has “lost so many court cases.” Notably, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the NCAA’s rules barring athletes from profiting from their own Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) violated federal antitrust laws.

Students can now agree to deals that monetize the huge commercial industry surrounding college sports. The NCAA also had to agree to pay back thousands of athletes as part of a $2.57 billion settlement.

If Alexander’s lawsuit is successful, it could inspire more students to challenge disciplinary actions in the future, particularly those involving betting.