Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. plans to take school to court to halt suspension during rape case
University of Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. is set to mount legal action against the university to allow him to return to the basketball court while he is facing a rape charge.
Shannon Jr.’s attorney Mark Goldenberg told 247 Sports that their legal team plans to file a motion on Wednesday seeking a temporary restraining order against Illinois to compel the school to reinstate him to the basketball team as the legal process for his charges takes place.
Shannon is currently suspended from all team activities.
“TJ has constantly maintained his innocence. All he wants is a fair process and we don’t believe he’s gotten that yet,” Goldenberg told the outlet.
Shannon was arrested in Douglas County in Kansas in December on a rape charge stemming from an alleged incident in September when he was in Lawrence as Illinois played Kansas in football.
He turned himself in and was released on $50,000 bail, the Associated Press reported.
Shannon, 23, was First-Team All-Big Ten for the Illini last season, and a potential All-American this year.
He has averaged 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 11 games this season.
Illinois is ranked 10th in the latest AP poll.
Shannon played for Texas Tech for three years before transferring to Illinois prior to last season.
Mark Sutter, another attorney for Shannon, released a statement to the Associated Press at the time of the basketball star’s arrest maintaining his innocence.
“Since September, when these allegations surfaced, Terrence has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, declaring his innocence from the beginning,” Sutter said in December.
“Now, several months later, my office learned that formal charges were filed against him yesterday in Lawrence, KS. In less than 24 hours, my client responded, and he voluntarily surrendered to local authorities for processing and release. Terrence is innocent of these charges, and he intends to take his case to trial.”
