Sexual abuse charges against ISU men’s basketball player Bubu Palo have been dropped, and Palo had been reinstated by the ISU athletic department.

Palo said he attended practice Monday but did not participate.

“It’s always been taught ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ and I felt like I didn’t have a chance to defend myself before people were making judgements against me,” Palo said. “So I would say that’s probably what hurt the most.”

Palo’s attorney, Matt Boles, said the key piece of evidence was reportedly tampered with by the complainant in a fashion that did not fit her story.

Boles said the shirt Palo had worn the night before was with the victim when she was admitted to the hospital and wasn’t seized by police because they didn’t believe it was a necessary piece of evidence. Then 10 days after the alleged incident, the victim took the shirt to her mother’s house to launder the shirt.

Boles had the shirt sent off to Chesperene Cwiklik, a fabric analyst. After Cwiklik had run tests, the tests show the rip in the shirt had taken place after it had been washed, which was inconsistent with the victim’s story.

Boles said he didn’t know Palo before the case, but that the two had become friends and that Boles has nothing but the utmost respect for Palo.

“I’ve grown to really respect him,” Boles said. “He is a very mature young man. He’s really carried himself with a great deal of composure. Any time you’re a hometown kid in a place like Ames, Iowa, a lot of people are pulling for you, but a lot of people know your life.”

Palo was asked whether or not there were times that he doubted his name would ever be cleared or if he’d be reinstated.

“There were definitely days I was struggling, hope was wavering,” Palo said. “But those were the days I’d lean on my family, or I would definitely lean on the Lord to renew my strength.”

Palo explained that it was one of the hardest things he’s had to go through, to sit on the sidelines and watch his team lose at Iowa and lose a heartbreaking game to Kansas.

But Palo did say he learned sitting in the stands, watching fans rush into Hilton and fill the seats. He saw the support not only his team received, but the support he personally was able to experience from the fans.

He then said he would bring a different level from here out.

“I’m going to bring it to an entirely different level as I have a new passion for basketball and a new passion for life,” Palo said. “This made me really appreciate everything I’ve been given, the opportunities I’ve been blessed with, to fully take it in, to fully appreciate the support they have is going to be amazing.”