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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM Sports WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008
SPORTS UDK THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN
COURT
Judge orders Collins to pay damages
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Kansas junior guard Sherron Collins was ordered Tuesday by a Douglas County judge to pay more than $75,000 to a woman who accused him of assault.
The court document said Collins was notified of the claim against him last month but never filed a response or defense. According to the document, Jessica J. Brown, a former Jayhawker Towers' employee, alleged Collins physically came on to her in one of the complex's elevators and rubbed his exposed penis on her in May 2007.
In a statement released by the Athletics Department, Collins said he didn't respond after being told about the lawsuit because he didn't understand what was expected of him. He said the allegations were not true.
"I am aware of the allegation and cooperated with the investigation last summer," Collins said in the statement. "I am 100 percent innocent of any inappropriate behavior."
Kansas coach Bill Self said Collins had been in Chicago visiting his father,
who was ill. Self said Collins had since returned to Lawrence and was looking forward to addressing the matter and proving his innocence.
Self added that he had known about the accusation since last May but was surprised to find out what happened in the civil suit today.
Although Self said Collins had "no excuse" for not responding to the petition, the coach was still supporting him.
"I stand by him without question," Self said.
According to the lawsuit, Brown sustained medical, emotional and psychological damages from the incident. The court document also said she was forced to pay medical bills and leave her place of employment as a result of the alleged assault.
Self said Collins and his attorney would meet to determine the guard's next step in the legal process.
"I'm disappointed that he's got to deal with this and we've got to deal with this," Self said. "Certainly, I'm not passing judgment on anything but I wish this was handled differently."
Jon Goering/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Edited by Brenna Hawley
A Douglas County judge ordered junior guard Sherron Collins to pay more than $75,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in May 2007.
FOOTBALL
Rankings expert doubts Kansas
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
The Kansas football team has received high rankings from the first batch of preseason polls but college football expert Phil Steele is not as optimistic.
Steele's College Football Preview magazine, which stassen.com found to contain the most accurate preseason rankings during the past nine years, has the Jayhawks ranked significantly lower than its competitors. While all the other rankings have Kansas second in the Big 12 North division and in the top 20 nationally, Steele picked it third in the Big 12 North and 30th overall.
"Kansas fans are going to want
SEE POLL ON PAGE 26