photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas' Arterio Morris dribbles the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

A rape charge against a former KU basketball player was dismissed on Tuesday due to insufficient evidence.

Arterio Morris, 21, of Dallas, was charged in Douglas County District Court with one felony count of rape in connection with an incident on Aug. 28, 2023, involving an 18-year-old woman at the KU basketball player’s dormitory, as the Journal-World reported.

Morris was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in March but instead entered into mediation talks with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. A status conference was scheduled for Wednesday for the parties to update the court about the negotiations, but that conference was canceled with a note that said “case dismissed.”

The state, represented by Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden, filed a motion to dismiss citing “insufficient evidence,” according to court records.

Morris was suspended after the allegations were made public and was dismissed from the KU basketball program after he was formally charged in September 2023. Morris had been free on a $75,000 surety bond.

Morris’ attorney, Hatem Chahine, said that in addition to the criminal case, the Title IX investigation at the University of Kansas has also been dismissed.

“We are very pleased with the outcome. This is something I was anticipating after I worked to get the Title IX investigation dismissed,” Chahine told the Journal-World. “I’m just hoping he can play ball somewhere in the future.”

He said that the allegations cost Morris a year’s worth of scholarship benefits at KU and any Name Image and Likeness money he could have earned.

“This was a major case and I am very happy with the outcome, but the unfortunate thing is we can’t take it back. He can’t come back to KU and play,” Chahine said.