Terrence Shannon's lawyer releases statement after Illinois star's arrest, suspension

A lawyer representing Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has released a statement in light of his suspension from the program. He turned himself into police in Kansas after rape charges were brought against him.

Illinois announced Shannon’s suspension on Thursday after police in Douglas County, Kansas, issued a warrant for his arrest. The charges stem from an incident in September when Shannon visited Kansas to watch Illinois take on the Jayhawks as a spectator. According to the university, he was not there on official university business.

Shannon reported to authorities and surrendered on Thursday. However, his lawyer — Mark P. Sutter — is maintaining his innocence as the legal process continues.

“Since September, when these allegations surfaced, Terrence has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, declaring his innocence from the beginning,” Sutter said, via The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman. “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.”

On the court, Terrence Shannon has put together an impressive season after opting to return to Illinois this year. He was averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game prior to his suspension. Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood canceled his regularly scheduled media availability on Thursday, and athletics director Josh Whitman will address reporters Friday at 6 p.m. ET in Champaign.

As the situation unfolded, though, the university apparently knew about the allegations, according to the Champaign News-Gazette’s Scott Richey. Illinois learned of the investigation into Shannon in late September, but didn’t receive information worthy of taking action until Thursday. As a result, the university suspended him from all team activities, effective immediately.

Whitman released a statement to the News-Gazette about how the school handled the situation, pointing to the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) policy about sexual misconduct and the need for due process to play out.

“The University and DIA have shown time and again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct,” Whitman said in his statement. “At the same time, DIA policy affords student-athletes 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 involved parties.”