CHAMPAIGN – WAND-TV reported that the legal team for a Fighting Illini men’s basketball player filed a temporary restraining order to play again.
The University of Illinois suspended Terrence Shannon, Jr. from all team activities after he was charged with rape by police in Lawrence, Kansas.
Shannon’s lawyer said he is innocent of the charge and cooperating with the investigation. Police said the incident occurred at a bar during a Fighting Illini football game in Kansas. Shannon was not traveling on university business at the time.
Shannon is scheduled to appear in court in Lawrence on January 18.
At a December 29, 2023 news conference, Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman said the alleged bar incident was “short on specifics,” so no action was taken by the athletic department against Shannon.
“We take sexual misconduct incredibly seriously. It’s antithetical to our mission as a university and athletic department,” Whitman said. “But we also know there’s a presumption of innocence in legal proceedings.”
Shannon’s attorneys said the suspension was a rush to judgment by the university and he was refused due process.
On Monday night, U of I spokesperson Robin Kaler told the News-Gazette that the university will quote… “defend our student-athlete misconduct process, which was developed for situations like this one, where the University needs to respond promptly to allegations of various crimes or serious misconduct while related criminal or campus proceedings are underway.”
The filing named University of Illinois system President Tim Killeen and the Board of Trustees.
According to the Associated Press, Shannon averaged 21.7 points per game, and ranked eighth in the nation. The 6-foot-6 guard from Chicago is in his fifth and final season of college basketball. He played at Texas Tech for three years before coming to Illinois.
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