Cephus attorney says UW doesn’t want football player back

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The attorney for former Wisconsin football player Quintez Cephus says university officials are sending a “clear message” they don’t want the former Badgers wide receiver back despite his acquittal in a sexual assault case.

Attorney Stephen Meyer said Monday that discussions have collapsed. University spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said Monday she couldn’t comment due to privacy rules.

UW coach Paul Chryst last week said, “Q knows how everyone in this building feels.”

Cephus filed a petition for readmission last week, just days after a jury found him not guilty of sexually assaulting two students who said he had raped them.

Meyer says the university has made clear it won’t make a decision until “well after the semester has started.”

Cephus and current Badger players planned a news conference Monday on his case. Meyer says players have sent an email supporting Cephus to UW-Madison Chancellor Becky Blank.