Terrence Shannon Jr. on Monday filed for a temporary restraining order requiring his school to “immediately reinstate” the Illinois star who was suspended indefinitely from all team activities last month following an arrest on a rape charge, Le his lawyer, Mark Sutter, told ESPN. The charge stems from an alleged rape in September.
Shannon’s lawsuit, filed by Sutter and his legal team in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Champaign, lists as defendants the Illinois board of trustees and the school’s president, Timothy Killeen.
After a warrant was issued for Shannon in Douglas County, Kansas, last month, he submitted to authorities and was briefly jailed before posting bail and returning to Champaign.
According to the initial complaint, Shannon was charged with “unlawfully, criminally and knowingly having sexual intercourse with a person… who did not consent to sexual intercourse under circumstances where she was overcome by force or fear, a severity level 1″. person serious crime.”
The temporary restraining order lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, claims that Shannon was not afforded due process before being removed from the team. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 18, but the trial in the case would not begin until June, after the conclusion of the college basketball season.
“Does the presumption of innocence really mean anything? That question is at the heart of this case,” the lawsuit states. “Illinois has promised [Shannon] would adhere to this presumption, but in practice Illinois has not applied it by suspending [him] and ruining his career as if he were already condemned. [Shannon] maintains his innocence, for the record. Sexual assault is a horrible crime and [Shannon] “He is appalled that his name appears in the same sentence with a crime like this, and is in no way trying to minimize that this is a real problem.”
Illinois officials said they are reviewing Shannon’s lawsuit but will defend the school’s disciplinary process.
“We are aware that Terrence Shannon Jr.’s legal counsel has requested injunctive relief regarding his suspension from the men’s basketball program,” Illinois associate chancellor Robin Kaler said in a statement. “We will review the filing and uphold our student-athlete misconduct procedures, which allow us to respond quickly to allegations of misconduct and serious crimes while providing our student-athletes with a fair process and expecting the legal system and prosecution processes to proceed.” university discipline.”
According to the lawsuit, Shannon drove to Kansas with teammate Justin Harmon and DyShawn Hobson, an Illinois graduate assistant who accompanied the two players on the trip the weekend of a Kansas football game. The alleged rape occurred at a local bar in Lawrence, Kansas, where a woman said Shannon touched her inappropriately and sexually assaulted her. Then, according to the investigative report included in the lawsuit filed by Shannon, she went to Lawrence police, who contacted Illinois.
Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman confirmed that Lawrence police notified the school that Shannon had been the subject of an investigation involving an allegation that he had inappropriately touched a woman, but Illinois officials were not informed. the details of that investigation.
At a later news conference, Whitman said school officials learned of the arrest warrant last month on social media.
“The university and [the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics] “We have demonstrated time and time again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct,” Whitman said in a statement after Shannon was suspended from all team activities. “At the same time, DIA policy provides student-athletes with appropriate levels of due process based on the nature and severity of the allegations. We will rely on that policy and our prior experiences to manage this situation appropriately for the university and the parties involved.
Shannon’s lawsuit claims Illinois officials told him the school will not reconsider his suspension until his legal case is resolved, which would force him to miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season and “suffer irreparable harm without injunctive relief.” as his career will certainly be ruined if the suspension continues, affecting his business interests, including his contractual rights.”
“All we want for our client is a fair and [Shannon] “I have not received it yet,” Shannon’s legal team said in a statement to ESPN. “Respectfully, this was a hasty judgment on the part of the university, and the protocol they implemented to summarily suspend our client ignored the foundations of due process and the presumption.” of innocence. “Our team remains hopeful that justice will finally be served.”
Shannon is averaging 21.7 points this season.
