The review of the appeal of the NCAA’s suspension of Kansas sophomore Silvio De Sousa remains ongoing and KU officials say they’re working on it “daily.”
Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said as much Tuesday night on the second edition of “Hawk Talk” with Jeff Long on 1320 KLWN radio, when answering a question from the audience seeking an update on De Sousa’s situation.
Requests by the Journal-World to discuss the appeal with Long have been received but not granted.
“There’s not a whole lot I can add,” Long said Tuesday on “Hawk Talk.” “But I do want our fans to know, and coach (Bill) Self certainly knows this, there’s not a single day that we’re not spending time on that and working on Silvio.”
It’s been 53 days since Long announced that KU was appealing the NCAA’s two-season suspension of De Sousa, which stemmed from the involvement of De Sousa’s guardian, Fenny Falmagne, in a pay-for-play scandal that landed in federal court and resulted in the conviction of three men with ties to Adidas.
Long said on Feb. 2, one day after the NCAA announced the suspension, that KU had “a commitment from (the NCAA) that they will move along as quickly as possible.” But as the Jayhawks head into another offseason, De Sousa’s future remains up in the air and there is no indication of when a ruling on the appeal might come.
“I’m sure he doesn’t understand the process because, I’ll be candid, there’s many times I don’t understand the process,” Long said on “Hawk Talk.” “But we are working on it daily. I’m confident that we will eventually get the appeal in in the right way and I’m hopeful that we’ll have a positive outcome.”
He added: “There’s nothing more important to us than the student-athletes in our program and Silvio’s just an incredible young man. I’m so impressed with the way he’s carried himself and conducted himself and remained positive through this very challenging (situation).”
Despite missing the entire 2018-19 season, De Sousa remained a part of the Kansas basketball program in every capacity beyond game nights. He practiced with the team, traveled to road games, sat on the bench to support his teammates and continued to attend classes, tutoring sessions and workouts like any other member of the program.
