“THANK YOU For Giving His Life Back” Ex-Badgers Quintez Cephus Is Cleared To Return To UW-Madison.
Former Wisconsin receiver Quintez Cephus has been cleared to return to school after a jury acquitted him of sexual assault charges. Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst has said he would welcome Cephus back. The school announced Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s decision in a statement that said the university had obtained information that wasn’t provided during a student conduct review. The statement said sanctions against Cephus have been “reduced” and his expulsion has been lifted, though some conduct violations were upheld.
Cephus 21, of Macon, Georgia, was suspended from the team in August 2018 because of two female’s accusations. Cephus countered that the sex was consensual and was arranged by one of his accusers. The school expelled him earlier this year. A jury acquitted him Aug. 6 after deliberating for less than an hour. Since Cephus’ acquittal, black community leaders, members of the football team and many Badgers fans have rallied around him, urging the university to accept his petition for reinstatement. His attorneys accused UW-Madison last week of dragging its feet when the university requested more documents to review…UW-Madison said it received information from the criminal trial that it did not have during its student conduct proceeding, which requires a lower burden of proof than in criminal cases.
Marcus Allen, president of the African-American Council of Churches Madison and pastor at the Mount Zion Baptist Church that Cephus attends, said he was grateful Blank decided to allow Cephus to go on with his life. “If he was found innocent why shouldn’t he be allowed to return to his normal way of life?” Allen said. “We stand on the side of justice and justice said he was innocent.” Cephus’ attorney, Stephen Meyer, issued a statement thanking Blank for giving Cephus “his life back in time to pursue his academic and athletic dreams.”
madison.com– K. Meyerhofer espn.com– AP
