After rape charge against Shannon, Illini AD Josh Whitman says school will respect "due process"
CHICAGO (CBS) – In the wake of star basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr. being charged with rape, University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman said the school has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct.
Whitman spoke for the first time publicly since Shannon was charged, stemming from an incident in Lawrence, Kansas, in September.
Whitman said the university's athletic department did not have "actionable information" to suspend Shannon until the arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday. That information, Whitman said, included allegations Shannon inappropriately touched a woman in a Lawrence bar.
Shannon was suspended indefinitely but Whitman said the university will respect "due process" and shed some light on what it may take for Shannon to return to the team.
"Ultimately, one of two things would have to happen," Whitman said. "Either the conduct panel would have to vote to return him to status during this interim period, or there would be some resolution of the case in the legal system that would open the door for his return."
The conduct panel Whitman referenced operates independently of the university's Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The DIA said in a statement on Thursday that it learned of an investigation into Shannon back in late September when the University of Illinois Police Department received word from Lawrence police that they wanted to interview Shannon. Whitman said it was unclear at the time if Shannon was the target of the investigation.
Whitman said when asked about his time in Kansas, Shannon "was very forthcoming with us, detailed his visit, but nothing he shared with us triggered any cause for us to institute any discipline or take any action."
In the following days, the university learned Shannon was the target of the investigation.
Whitman said the UIPD learned the allegations stemmed from a public incident that took place at a bar in Lawrence where Shannon interacted with a young woman and engaged in "inappropriate touching." Whitman added that none of the information they received early on was substantiated or indicated any specific charges that would be brought against Shannon.
"We were looking to obtain something more than just the verbal updates that we had received from Lawrence PD through U of I PD to us," Whitman said.
He added that throughout the process, the DIA shared the information it received with the university's Office of the Chancellor, the Title IX office, and university counsel for their input on when to "trigger" the implementation of the department's misconduct policy. He said the unanimous opinion was that the DIA did not have sufficient reason to begin that process at the time.
Whitman said the DIA even asked Lawrence police for more information, including a police report related to the alleged incident, but did not receive additional information.
"I don't say that in a judgmental way," Whitman said. "Again, understanding that Lawrence PD had their own investigation and we don't expect them to prioritize what was happening here in Champaign, but the fact of the matter is we weren't able to get additional information despite our requests to do so."
It wasn't until Wednesday when Whitman and the athletic department learned of the warrant for Shannon's arrest for the charge of rape. Whitman said he delivered the news to Shannon and told him about his suspension. Shannon traveled to Lawrence to turn himself into authorities on Thursday.
