After taking his school to court, Terrence Shannon Jr. can return to the basketball court at Illinois weeks after he was arrested on a felony rape charge.
On Friday, a federal judge granted Shannon’s request for a temporary restraining order against Illinois, clearing him to return to the court immediately.
The 6-foot-6 Chicago native was having an All-America type season while averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
A week after hearing arguments from the university and Shannon’s lawyers, Judge Colleen Lawless ruled on two claims Shannon made in his lawsuit: that his suspension violated rights afforded to him by Title IX and that the suspension denied him due process of law, which was causing “irreparable harm” to his interests protected by due process.
Lawless ruled against Shannon on Title IX, but ruled in his favor on the due process claims. His protected interests, Lawless said, include his NIL deal and the money that comes with it and his occupation as a basketball player. She found both are being harmed by the suspension.
She said Shannon’s NIL deals are worth little if he is not playing and keeping him suspended until the resolution of the criminal trial effectively ends his college basketball career. That, in turn, would increase the likelihood of him going undrafted in this summer’s NBA draft.
“While the Court recognizes the strong interest the University has in acting pursuant to its policies, the court concludes that the irreparable harm to [Shannon] by application of the DIA Policy outweighs the harm to Illinois,” the Judge wrote.
The ruling means that Shannon is allowed to participate in full team activities again for the first time since he was suspended Dec. 28. Ilinois plays at Rutgers on Sunday.
Shannon’s lawyers released the following statement in response to Lawless’s ruling:
“TJ is grateful for today’s ruling and looking forward to playing for the Illini again. TJ is also thankful to his legal team, lead counsel Rob Lang, Steve Beckett, Mark Goldenberg, Zoe Spector, Tom Horscroft, and Mark Sutter.”
Shannon posted on social media, “I am grateful for the opportunity to rejoin my teammates and get back to work.”
While Shannon is cleared to play basketball again, his criminal court case in Kansas is ongoing. Shannon attended via Zoom a hearing on Thursday that scheduled a preliminary hearing date for Feb. 23.
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