LAWRENCE, Kan. — Former Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball forward Silvio De Sousa was found not guilty on aggravated battery on Thursday.
The original charges stemmed from a Jan. 1, 2020 incident with another man.
KU coach Bill Self acknowledged back in October that he was aware of the incident involving De Sousa. The former played announced two weeks before hand that he was leaving the basketball program to “focus on matters in his personal life.”
De Sousa’s three seasons at KU were marked by controversy.
After playing a small role off the bench during his freshman season, the Jayhawks withheld De Sousa from competition to start the 2018-19 season amid an investigation into his eligibility.
The NCAA ultimately dropped the hammer on De Sousa in February 2019 over alleged payments made by a KU booster and an Adidas employee to his guardian, illicit gifts made during the recruiting process that came to light as part of an FBI probe into college recruiting tactics by shoe companies.
De Sousa initially received a two-year ban — the balance of the 2018-19 season and all of the 2019-20 season as well — but the NCAA reduced the punishment to a one-year ban in May 2019 on appeal.
De Sousa was also in a fight with Dejuan Gordon in the final minutes of the Sunflower Showdown. The former KU player had blocked the shot of Gordon and then stood over him. Benches cleared, punches were thrown, and De Sousa was seen picking up a chair amid the brawl.
After that fight, The Big 12 suspended him for 12 games. Coach Self, though made his suspension uncertain and he never played again. Three other players also received suspensions for their part in the melee in the brawl.
KSHB 41 News real time editor Tod Palmer contributed to this report.
