Louisiana State University reduced a football player's one-year suspension for sexual assault to two years of disciplinary probation without restrictions on appeal.
Posted by Behind the Bastards, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Behind the BastardsOct 3, 2026
Multiple reporting sources (ESPN, WAFB, The Advocate/LSU Reveille, LA Times, NBC) confirm that LSU's Title IX office found the player responsible for sexual assault/forcible rape, and that on appeal the finding was upheld while the one-year suspension was reduced to probation without restrictions, equal to the four semesters (two years) cited by several outlets.
What was said
… Basically, Kendall Francis is a student at LSU, a young Black woman. This is from Law Commentary: "LSU found a football player responsible for sexual assault and forcible rape through its Title Nine process, then reduced his one-year suspension on appeal to two years of probation without restrictions, subsequently allowing him back on the LSU football team." So, this finding remained in place. In that case is now under criminal investigation. So, you're probably thinking, "What the fuck?" Basically, Law Commentary reports that Francis, the student at LSU, filed a formal Title IX complaint in January of 2026. …
Behind the Bastards · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. ESPN reports the administrative law judge upheld the 'forcible rape' finding but reduced the punishment to four semesters of probation with no restrictions, letting the player stay on campus and participate in activities.[2]
Supports. WAFB documents, as cited by Knoe, state LSU's Title IX finding of 'sexual assault - forcible rape' was upheld on appeal and sanctions were modified to 'probation without restrictions.'[3]
Supports. The LA Times and NBC both report the one-year (or two-semester) suspension was lessened on appeal to four semesters of probation, which allowed the player to remain on campus and continue playing football.[1][4]
Supports. A Sept. 2026 report says LSU found the player responsible for sexual assault and forcible rape, then upheld the finding but changed his punishment to two years of disciplinary probation without restrictions, matching the claim's wording.[5]
Context. Four semesters of probation equals the two years in the claim, so the duration is consistent across sources; the original suspension is reported as one year by ESPN and USA Today but as two semesters by NBC and The Advocate, which is an equivalent academic-year span.[1][2][6][7]
Context. The sources concern Damien Shanklin, the player the post refers to, and the Title IX case was reported in 2026, before the October 3 posting; the criminal investigation and the player's denial of wrongdoing do not affect whether the disciplinary reduction occurred.[8][9]
Sources
9 sources: 1 tier 2, 8 not rated
- 1LSU student says she was raped by a football player who ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 2Police investigating rape allegation against LSU football ...espn.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3Accused LSU football player declares innocenceknoe.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4LSU reduced player's punishment for rape. Now D.A. is investigatinglatimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5LSU Student Speaks Out After Rape Finding Didn't Trigger ...seattle.binnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6LSU football player under investigation for alleged rapeusatoday.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7A criminal investigation has opened into LSU football player for rapelsureveille.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8LSU student who accused football player of sexual assault says university failed her as criminal investigation openssports.yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 9New Documents Reveal Details in Rape Allegation Against LSU ...ground.news · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- LSU suspended a student for one year after finding him responsible for rape.True
- Louisiana State University found a football player responsible for sexual assault and forcible rape through its Title IX process.True
- Kendall Francis filed a formal Title IX complaint against an LSU football player in January 2026.True
- A criminal complaint regarding the sexual assault allegations against an LSU football player was brought to the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office on September 22, 2026.True
- Cornell University temporarily suspended the Kai Fi fraternity and imposed temporary suspensions or restrictions on students accused in connection with the incident.True