NCAA, KU hold Silvio De Sousa appeal hearing

By Matt Tait     May 24, 2019

Benton Smith
University of Kansas sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa speaks with media members on Friday afternoon, April, 19, 2019, for the first time since the NCAA ruled him ineligible for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. De Sousa, seated next to his lawyer, Scott Tompsett, said he will enter the 2019 NBA Draft, but will return to the Jayhawks if KU's appeal, submitted in mid-April, regains him eligibility.

According to a report from CBS Sports, the appeal hearing for Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa took place Friday morning and a ruling could come in a matter of hours.

A source confirmed to the Journal-World that the hearing with the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Reinstatement committee took place at 9:15 a.m. via teleconference.

KU is appealing the NCAA’s two-year suspension of De Sousa, which was handed out in February as the result of the involvement of De Sousa’s guardian, Fenny Falmagne, in a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball recruiting.

KU officials formally filed the appeal on April 18 and De Sousa’s attorney, Scott Tompsett, said a day later that he could see a resolution coming the following week.

Instead, a process that had dragged on for more than a year found further delays, which led to KU resubmitting the appeal last week.

De Sousa said last month that if the appeal is granted, he will return to Kansas for what would be his junior season. That, he said, is his preference.

To cover his bases and further expand his exposure, the 6-foot-9 forward from Angola declared for the 2019 NBA Draft and now has until Wednesday to pull his name from the draft pool to retain his college eligibility.

Stay tuned to KUsports.com and ljworld.com throughout the day for updates.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.