UW-Madison: Cephus attorney’s comments on readmission request ‘false’; no decision yet

Tabatha Wethal by Tabatha Wethal

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Attorney Steven Meyer and Quintez Cephus

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Attorney Meyer, Cephus







The University of Wisconsin-Madison won’t readmit former Badgers football player Quintez Cephus, his attorney told News 3 Now Monday, but the university responded calling the attorney’s comments “false,” saying a decision hasn’t been made.

Attorney Steve Meyer said he sent the university a 14-page document with all of the evidence that was provided during Cephus’ sexual assault trial plus evidence the courts didn’t allow to be presented. It wasn’t immediately clear what additional evidence was included.

A jury found Cephus was not guilty Aug. 2 on felony charges of second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim and third-degree sexual assault. He was accused of assaulting two 18-year-old women in 2018.

Cephus and his attorneys filed a petition for readmission to the university last week. Cephus was suspended by the football team and expelled by the school last August following the sexual assault allegations.

“The university is sending a clear message that they do not want him to be a student at the university this semester,” Meyer said Monday.

UW-Madison on Monday afternoon said Meyer’s comments were false and that there wasn’t a decision yet on the readmission request either way.

This is not accurate. UW statement to come.

— UW-Madison Media (@UWMadisonMedia) August 12, 2019

“UW-Madison is committed to performing a complete and thorough review of any petition for reinstatement that it receives. In most cases this involves a full review of all relevant court records, which in this case were not provided in the petition,” the university said in a statement. “We are working to gather this information currently and will complete our review of the petition as quickly as possible once we have it. No decision on this matter has been made at this time.”

The university said its code of conduct is separate from court decisions and “students may be held responsible for violations of the code regardless of whether those violations are also criminal.”

State and federal law require UW-Madison to apply its code of conduct “impartially and consistently regardless of the identities of the individuals involved,” the university said.

https://t.co/wxWDQpyF8e

— UW-Madison Media (@UWMadisonMedia) August 12, 2019

In the days following the not guilty verdict, current and former Wisconsin Badger football players began campaigning on social media for Wisconsin to let Cephus play football. The hashtag “LetQTPlay” surfaced Tuesday on Twitter.

A news conference is planned Monday at 4 p.m. at the Madison Municipal Building in front of a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., Meyer said. Cephus’ attorneys and Badgers football team players are expected to take part in the event.

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