Terrence Shannon files for restraining order against Illinois - ESPN

Terrence Shannon Jr. filed for a temporary restraining order Monday that demands his school «immediately reinstate» the Illinois star who was suspended indefinitely from all team activities last month following an arrest on a rape charge, his lawyer, Mark Sutter, told ESPN. The charge stems from an alleged rape in September.

Shannon's lawsuit, filed by Sutter and his legal team in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Champaign, lists the Illinois board of trustees and school president Timothy Killeen as defendants.

After a warrant was issued for Shannon in Douglas County, Kansas, last month, he submitted to authorities and was briefly jailed before posting bail and returning to Champaign.

According to the initial complaint, Shannon was charged with «unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with a person… who did not consent to the sexual intercourse under circumstances when she was overcome by force or fear, a severity level 1 person felony.»

The temporary restraining order lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, claims Shannon was not granted due process before he was removed from the team. He is set to be arraigned Jan. 18, but the trial for the case would not begin until June, after the conclusion of the college basketball season.

«Does the presumption of innocence really mean anything? That question is at the heart of this case,» the lawsuit states. «Illinois has promised [Shannon] that it would adhere to this presumption, but in practice Illinois has not applied it by suspending [him] and ruining his career as if he were already convicted. [Shannon] maintains his innocence, for the record. Sexual assault is a horrific crime, and [Shannon] is appalled that his name is mentioned in