Stevenson decides to leave BYU

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    By JERRY GOWEN

    Brigham Young University football player Derik Stevenson voluntarily withdrew from school Tuesday, according to the athletic department.

    Stevenson, a sophomore linebacker from Diamond Bar, Calif., was a standout on defense and special teams for the Cougars last season.

    “Derik is a fine young man,” said BYU Football Coach LaVell Edwards. “We support him and hope that, pending resolution of this situation, he will return to our football team in the future.”

    BYU Athletic Director Rondo Fehlberg said the day following the incident in Ephraim, Stevenson notified his coach, and his coach put him in touch with the Honor Code Office.

    “It was the right thing to do. It was handled through the Honor Code Office as the facts were revealed,” Fehlberg said.

    Rush Sumpter, director of the Honor Code Office, said the investigation of Stevenson was ongoing and followed procedures normally taken by the Honor Code Office.

    “Derik has taken the first step to resolve the issue with the Honor Code Office and the university,” Sumpter said.

    Stevenson pleaded guilty last month to a pair of misdemeanor charges stemming from an incident in which he discharged a firearm on the campus of Snow College.

    The Honor Code Office became aware late last week of two additional misdemeanor cases involving Stevenson contained in Utah County police records.

    According to a Utah County clerk, in 1993 Stevenson pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and the case was dismissed after 6 months as part of a diversion agreement.

    In September of 1996, Stevenson pleaded no-contest to simple assault and was fined $270 and sentenced to serve 90 days in jail for the assault charge. The jail time was suspended and Stevenson was required to pay the $270 fine or serve 54 hours of community service.

    A county clerk confirmed that Stevenson paid the fine Dec. 13, 1996.

    Stevenson’s decision to withdraw from the university poses the question of whether he will be eligible to play football next fall. According to NCAA regulations, football players must complete 24 credit hours during the academic year to be eligible to play.

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