What’s next after Quintez Cephus’s not guilty verdict?

Former University of Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus was found not guilty of two felony sexual assault charges last Friday, Aug. 2.

Juror April Weir-Hauptman told 27 News, “Everyone came surprisingly to the table with the same exact not guilty verdict, without any discussion.”

Among the evidence used to exonerate Cephus was surveillance footage that his attorneys claimed showed the complainant was not intoxicated and, therefore, able to consent. Cephus’s attorney Stephen Meyer told the media after the trial’s conclusion, “I kept asking myself, ‘what if there wasn’t a video? What if these videos didn’t exist?’ Would [Cephus] be standing here now?”

“And I think we all have to ask ourselves that question.”

It’s time now for Cephus to look ahead. It has been reported that he was expelled from UW-Madison, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports he is looking to return to college and clean up his record. It does make sense that he would work to restore his standing. According to Amy Gill of WKOW, he wants to reapply to school and have his record “cleaned up.”

Before he can do that UWS 17.18 must be taken into account and his next step is to petition Chancellor Becky Blank, and, “...the readmission decision should be made in consultation with the Title IX coordinator.”

His effort to be reinstated isn’t being done alone. Cephus’s former and current teammates are making their pitch to restore his standing using the hashtag #LetQTPlay.

After practice on Wednesday morning, Badgers head coach Paul Chryst was asked about whether the team would welcome Cephus back into the fold if he wanted to come back and play with them.

We will have more on this story as it develops.

Bob Wiedenhoeft helped with this story.