ADVERTISEMENT: Illinois amazed by Shannon Jr
Dec 29, 2023, 09:10 PM ET CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– Authorities at Illinois said they were shocked to find out that star basketball player Terrance Shannon Jr. had actually been charged with rape in Kansas.Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman stated Friday that he didn’t see the charging documents and warrant for Shannon’s arrest, released Dec. 5, till Wednesday on social media, hours after being informed about the charge.Illinois suspended Shannon on Thursday after he was charged with rape for an alleged incident that occurred when the football team played at Kansas in September.Editor’s Picks Whitman spoke at a news conference Friday before Illinois’game against Fairleigh Dickinson.Whitman said communication sent out
in late September by the Lawrence Authorities Department to the university cops indicated that Shannon was involved in an event in a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, on Sept. 9 that declared the improper touching of a woman.University authorities met Shannon after learning about the supposed bar event. Whitman stated Shannon was “upcoming “about his activities in Lawrence.Whitman said the supposed bar incident was” brief on specifics,” so no action was taken by the athletic department against Shannon. “We take sexual misbehavior extremely seriously.
It’s antithetical to our mission as a university and athletic department,” Whitman stated. “However we also know there’s a presumption of innocence in legal procedures.”Shannon, a 6-foot-6 guard from Chicago, remained in Lawrence to watch the Illinois football group play Kansas on Sept. 8. In a statement released Thursday, the university made it clear that Shannon was not in Lawrence
on official university business, nor was he a member of the university’s travel party.Shannon returned to Lawrence on Thursday afternoon with Illinois sports staff members to meet with authorities and post bail, Whitman stated. Shannon returned to Champaign on Thursday night.Mark Sutter, Shannon’s Chicago-area lawyer, provided a declaration Thursday stating Shannon was not guilty.” Considering that September, when these allegations emerged, Terrence has actually worked together with law enforcement … stating his innocence from the start,” Sutter stated.” Now, a number of months
later on, my office found out that formal charges were filed against him yesterday in Lawrence. In less than 24 hr, my customer reacted, and he willingly surrendered to regional authorities.”Terrance is innocent of these charges, and he plans to take his case to trial.” Led by Shannon
, Illinois has actually been climbing steadily through the ranks in The Associated Press Top 25 survey. The Illini were ranked a season-best 11th this week.Shannon is averaging 21.7 points per game, eighth in the nation and second just to ruling AP National
Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue in the Big 10 Conference. He’s also shooting a career-best 40.8% on 3-pointers. This is Shannon’s fifth and final season of college basketball. He played at Texas Tech for 3 years before coming to Illinois.