Damien Shanklin’s defense team is finally breaking its silence, and their timing says everything. For months, the LSU football player stayed quiet while campus rumors turned into a high-stakes criminal review. Now, with local prosecutors digging into what happened inside a dorm room, his lawyers are stepping out to reclaim the narrative.
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“Damien Shanklin maintains his innocence regarding the events that occurred on October 18, 2025, and will fully cooperate with the criminal investigation,” Shanklin’s attorneys Grant L. Willis and Morgan H. Johnson said on Thursday.
The attorneys also pushed back against what they described as the version of events that has emerged through social media and news reports. “What has been portrayed on social media and in the news thus far is not a full account of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this situation,” the attorneys said.
“Some information cannot be made public while the criminal investigation continues because doing so could compromise the case.”
Beyond the standard boilerplate denial, the defense team’s statement advances a deliberate legal stance. By publicly claiming that not all facts are publicly available, specifically to not compromise the ongoing criminal investigation, Shanklin’s lawyers are asking the court of public opinion to cease making assumptions until more information is publicly available.
That distinction matters because the case has now moved between two very different systems. LSU’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX previously found Shanklin responsible for sexual assault and forcible r—, according to WAFB.
Shanklin appealed the decision. The finding was upheld, but the original one-year suspension was changed to disciplinary probation without restrictions. Still, the Title IX finding was only an administrative determination.
That distinction is everything here. A Title IX hearing is just an internal school review; it can hand down campus probation, but it cannot send anyone to prison. For months, the process dragged out behind closed doors due to administrative delays.
It was only after Francis took her story to TikTok, exposing the gaps in LSU’s response, that public anger forced local prosecutors to step in. Now, the case has moved from campus administrators to criminal investigators, where the stakes are real legal charges rather than just football eligibility.
The criminal case is still being investigated. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office began reviewing the matter in September after the alleged victim and LSU student, Kendall Francis, asked police to pursue a criminal case.
Interestingly, the first police contact in the Damien Shanklin case did not come from Kendall Francis. Around noon on Oct. 18, 2025, the LSU defensive end met campus police at the football operations center.
According to the police report, Shanklin wanted to document what had happened because he was concerned about possible accusations from Francis.
The night before, Francis had gone to Shanklin’s room at Riverbend Hall after the two had been communicating on FaceTime. Both accounts agree that some of the sexual contact was consensual. What happened next is where their stories split.
District Attorney Hillar Moore’s office confirmed that investigators are collecting records and evidence from LSU, LSU Police, Baton Rouge Police, and other agencies connected to the case. No criminal charges have been announced against Shanklin.
“I’m a first-generation student; my family, you know, they all just knew that I was going to LSU,” Francis told WAFB. “My friends knew that I was going to LSU, so it just sucks that my experience has to be like this. The fact that the university didn’t take care of it appropriately is just not okay.”
The case also includes an unusual timeline. LSU Police responded to the situation on October 18, 2025. WAFB reported that the initial police response was classified as a mental-health call and that the Title IX office did not receive the police report until December 9.
Francis filed a formal Title IX complaint in January 2026, but the case stayed out of the public eye for several months. That changed in September when Francis posted videos on TikTok detailing her allegations and questioning how LSU handled the case.
She said the university’s decision to reduce Shanklin’s suspension after his appeal made her concerned about running into him on campus. Her public account eventually prompted renewed scrutiny of the case and preceded the criminal investigation. Shanklin’s football status has also changed during that period.
Damien Shanklin’s football status remains in limbo
The Indianapolis native is a redshirt freshman defensive end on LSU’s 2026 roster. He appeared in five games as a freshman in 2025 and recorded two sacks in his debut against Southeastern Louisiana. Interestingly, he has not played for LSU this season.
“He is not practicing with the team right now, and that’s all I can comment on,” LSU head coach Lane Kiffin said to reporters in August.
LSU President Wade Rousse also has previously said the university followed its Title IX policies and would cooperate with law enforcement now that a criminal complaint has been filed.
The two also exchanged money. According to the police report, Shanklin showed investigators messages in which he asked Francis not to report the incident.
The report says she responded by asking how much money she would receive if she accepted that offer. The Title IX records say Shanklin then sent her $1,000 through Cash App. Francis later referred to the payment publicly as “hush money.”
While the criminal investigation hangs over his head, Shanklin’s football career remains frozen. The redshirt freshman defensive end showed real promise during games, but head coach Lane Kiffin confirmed he is currently sidelined from team practices.
For now, his athletic future and his personal freedom rest on how the prosecutors evaluate the evidence.