diff --git a/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/SortExec.scala b/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/SortExec.scala
index febfa0486927e..46b2cde2eed95 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/SortExec.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/execution/SortExec.scala
@@ -74,8 +74,6 @@ case class SortExec(
    * should make it public.
    */
   def createSorter(): UnsafeExternalRowSorter = {
-    rowSorter = new ThreadLocal[UnsafeExternalRowSorter]()
-
     val ordering = RowOrdering.create(sortOrder, output)
 
     // The comparator for comparing prefix