Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
Travel and Religion
Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech, and Ken Paxton

Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech, and Ken Paxton

Last updated on: June 16, 2026 at 3:35 pm by Dan Peterson

0 Comments

Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech, and Ken Paxton 2026-06-16T15:35:04-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Independence Missouri Visitors Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, completed in 1971 and shown here in a Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph, is located to the east (across the street) from the Community of Christ’s Auditorium (partially visible to the right) and to the south (across the street) from the historic Temple Lot and the Community of Christ’s Temple (near which the photographer is standing).

Becoming Brigham, Episode 21 — “Saints and Complainers” is now up online, for your viewing pleasure and at no charge.

The Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz from space, by night

(NASA, Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

President Trump launched his war against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the wee hours of the morning without seeking the approval of Congress or making a case for the attack to the American people. And, during the war, his administration provided varying rationales for it and often starkly-diverging descriptions of its goals. Now, Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are trying to end it by signing on to an executive agreement that commits the U.S. to certain provisions but that, thus far, only a very small group of people have been able to read.

It doesn’t appear to be an actual treaty but, rather, a “Memorandum of Understanding” that leaves most of the major issues (e.g., the future of the Iranian nuclear-enrichment program, the management of sea traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and the continuation or discontinuation of trade sanctions) to be resolved (or not!) within the next sixty days.

The White House is trumpeting this as a complete vindication of the war and the total achievement of all of our long-term foreign policy goals with respect to the Islamic Republic, while the Iranians are hailing it as a triumph for their side. Which is it? When will we be permitted to see it?

“Donar-Thor,” by Max Friedrich Koch (1869-1930) (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

In the meanwhile, last night’s gladiatorial combat on the South Lawn of the White House appears to have gone off without any real hitch although, for a while at least, the weather didn’t seem to be cooperating. At least, as noted by the woke libtards at the Fake News Weather Channel:

As I write, unnamed sources at the Department of Justice say that the DOJ will soon be launching investigations into the storm-god Ba‘al, Thor (son of Odin), and Zeus the Thunderer, and that indictments will be handed down against all of them. Reports further indicate that entry visas into the United States will no longer be granted to citizens of ancient Syria, medieval Norway, and Homeric and classical Greece. In preemptive response, the Olympian gods have just granted a laurel-wreath crown to Mr. Trump, proclaimed him the victor of all of the Olympic Games, and bestowed upon him the first-ever Peace Prize of Delphic Apollo.

The logo of Texas Tech athletics (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

I’m sure that many of you are aware of the Brendan Sorsby saga. Yes, the one involving Texas Tech, the NCAA, and, now, the Big 12. I haven’t been following it very closely, but the basic issue seems to me to be (or, as you will soon understand, to have been) quite simple. Betting on professional or collegiate athletic competitions — they’re more difficult to distinguish now than they used to be — when one is competing in them is morally and legally questionable, to say the least of the matter. (It kept the late Pete Rose out of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Right?)

But Texas Tech wants to win and a Texas judge ruled in favor of Sorsby and his team, and that ruling drew well-deserved criticism.

It all appears moot now, though, given this very late-breaking development: “Brendan Sorsby will leave Texas Tech, enter NFL supplemental draft”

I have to say, though, that I’m disappointed. When Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General who is also the anointed Republican nominee for the Senate of the United States, entered into the dispute, I figured that the moral balance of the dispute had been fundamentally transformed. Such an ethical titan carries real authority.

In a letter sent to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and board of directors chairman Douglas Girod, Paxton informed the league that it could face significant legal and financial consequences for punishing Sorsby, according to a Thursday report from Mark Schlabach of ESPN.

Paxton claimed the Big 12 would be held liable for “Texas Tech’s lost football revenues, damages to its alumni contributions and damages to its recruitment, plus attorneys’ fees,” per Schlabach, with the total cost being “substantially more than $200 million.” (“Why the Texas attorney general warned the Big 12 about punishing Texas Tech, Brendan Sorsby”)

How impressive it is that a moral exemplar of the stature of Ken Paxton would stand up for Brendan Sorsby! Maybe Sorsby gave up too soon?

A landscape of western Kansas (not eastern) by Albert Bierstadt (d. 1902)
Wikimedia Commons public domain image

Some, when they learn the identity of the author of this little account, will like it immediately even before they’ve read it. Some, learning the identity of the author, will instantly hate it. But it’s not really a political story, and that’s one of its aspects that I most like. I encourage you to read it. I like it better than gladiatorial combats, and I find it far more inspiring than any number of UFC fights or cage-matches could ever be: ““We Don’t Know Too Much About You, But We Want to Welcome You Here”: A college town in Kansas adopted a soccer team from thousands of miles away, and the team adopted them right back. This is the America I know.”

The entrance to the Medical Center at Duke University, where Dr. Harold G. Koenig has his principal academic appointment. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Finally, as I often do, I close with something that I’ve retrieved from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™: “Opinion: We fight for every drop of water. But we’re overlooking a wellspring of health in faith: Water is a life-giving resource, and the West has resolved to seek it out and protect it. But there is another resource that our health system rarely acknowledges,” which was written by Shima Baradaran Baughman (BYU), Loren Marks (BYU), Harold G. Koenig (Duke University School of Medicine), and Paul W. Lambert (BYU).

Travel and Religion

History and Religion

Previous Post

June 15, 2026

Twelve years ago

Next Post

June 16, 2026 Fairview, Texas, AI, and Other Challenges

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"DP: “But Mr. Sutherland worries about the fact that our time, when we can communicate ..."

Theodore Brandley

Learning more about a region of ..."

"Sutherland's lecture sounds interesting. He seems to restate the Washington consensus that trade brings peace ..."

B. Wilson

Learning more about a region of ..."

"In a meeting today, I learned another important reason why accurate (or at least as ..."

the PROBLEM

From Serbia’s “White City,” Belgrade

"I've been watching a lot of video interviews of NDErs and researchers. I think in ..."

brotheroflogan

Accounts of Premortality?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian denomination is known for circuit riders and revival meetings in America?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Presbyterian Episcopalian Catholic Methodist