Illinois basketball leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. returned to the court for the first time since late December on Sunday. He received a standing ovation from the Fighting Illini crowd.
Shannon, who led the team in scoring with an average of 21.7 points per game, was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on a felony rape charge. The alleged incident occurred on Sept. 8 while he was visiting Lawrence, Kansas for a football game.
A woman told police that Shannon touched her inappropriately before he sexually assaulted her at the bar. He was then booked for “rape; sexual intercourse without consent and use of force.”
His suspension was handed down by Illinois’ Division of Intercollegiate Athletics on Dec. 28. Athletic director Josh Whitman said at the time that Illinois and its DIA have “shown time and again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct.”
Even though Shannon maintains his innocence, he was removed from all team activities.
Terrence Shannon Jr. has returned.
The fifth-year senior, who transferred in 2022 after three years at Texas Tech, was back on the court for Sunday’s college basketball game against Rutgers. It was his first action since Dec. 22.
Fighting Illini fans welcomed him back with a loud standing ovation.
Shannon was not allowed back on the court because he was cleared of the charges. That may still happen, but it has not yet.
Rather, he was granted a temporary restraining order against the university.
The federal judge’s decision put a pause on the university’s indefinite suspension ruling and allowed him to return to the team. Shannon was immediately reinstated to full status as a student-athlete.
His lawyers initially requested the injunction earlier this month and claimed that the school made a “rush to judgement” and used an “unfair” process to determine that Shannon would be suspended. Judge Colleen Lawless of the United States District Court of the Central District of Illinois allowed the TRO request on Friday after determining that his suspension will cause “harm” to him and his professional future in basketball.
The Plaintiff has established that he has clearly ascertainable rights that need protection and there is some likelihood of success on the merits.
The Court further finds that Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law and will suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. The potential harm to Plaintiff outweighs any harm to the University. The public interest is not harmed by granting injunctive relief to allow for additional procedural safeguards while he is presumed innocent of the criminal charges […]
Therefore, Plaintiff Terrence Shannon, Jr.’s Verified Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is granted. It is hereby ordered that: Defendant, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, and all of its officers (including, but not limited to, Defendant Timothy Killeen), administration, employees, units, divisions, affiliates, and other agents, are hereby enjoined from continuing to suspend Plaintiff from the basketball team pursuant to the [Division of Intercollegiate Athletics] Policy […]
Defendants are enjoined from suspending Plaintiff from the basketball team without at least affording him the protections of the [Office of Student Conflict Resolution] Policy. The obligations of Defendants pursuant to this Order are to be construed as broadly as possible. This Order shall remain in effect until modified or terminated by a subsequent order.
— Judge Colleen Lawless in her ruling
Shannon did not start on Sunday. He came off of the bench and scored 16 points with four assists and one rebound during a dominant win. Illinois defeated Rutgers 86-63.
Shannon waived his right to an initial hearing in Douglas County, Kansas one day prior to the judge’s ruling. His preliminary hearing in the criminal case is set for Feb. 23.