Clarifying Jerramy Stevens' status

Okay, I think we're just about sick of Jerramy Stevens, but I want to clear up some misinformation about his status with the league.

General manager Bruce Allen told the St. Petersburg Times today that the NFL will soon announce a suspension of at least two games for Stevens, but this one is totally unrelated to his one-game suspension served last season.

When Stevens was arrested in March 2007 in Scottsdale, Ariz., he was charged with both a DUI and possession of marijuana. Last year's suspension was for the marijuana violation. That case was dismissed but only after Stevens completed a drug diversion program, according to a court official in Maricopa County, Ariz. He also was convicted on the DUI charge but was not immediately disciplined because the case was being appealed. Now that the case has run its course in the judicial system, Allen said the NFL is expected to announce an additional suspension of at least two games. The Bucs anticipate the league will reserve the right to add a third game to the suspension depending on Stevens' "behavior", though it's unclear exactly how all that will be determined.

Stevens was suspended and docked two games' pay by the league in November for the marijuana offense. He said today he had no knowledge of the league's plans to assess further discipline. He also, according to a league official,  has no say in how and when his suspension is served.

Allen said Stevens in all likelihood will miss the first two games, at New Orleans and at home against the Falcons.

Comments

[DR]

Makes the signing even worse. What a waste of money.

[cw]

His status should be I.J. - IN JAIL!

[Russell]

Here's hoping Ben Troupe revives his career or Alex Smith picks it up so we don't have to count on Stevens avoiding trouble to have a decent TE.

[Tom]

I don't think he's even going to make the team.

John Romano is the worst journalist I have ever read. And Ron and Ian are a couple of clowns that speak before they know anything. They believe everything they read and can't formulate their own opinion. Or even research what they just read. Typical gullible American.

I'm starting a new religion and John Romano is going to be my Cardinal, and Ron and Ian, my Bishops. I'm calling it the Branch Buccodian.

[M. Reynolds]

thats funny i seem to remember stevens being the only one who could catch the damn ball at the end of the season. By all means, let's throw the man under the bus.

[Tom]

Did this entire uproar begin as a result of the Seattle Times article? Are you kidding people? That was ONE article from ONE newspaper. No one knows the truth so stop throwing stones. Are all of you completely knowledgeable of the case? Furthermore, the case was dismissed by the prosecutors!!

Duemig, Ron and Ian, and John Romano are self-righteous idiots.

[DR]

The uproar is happening because Stevens has yet to give the public his side of the story. I mean, c'mon, you're getting ridiculed in the papers for everyone to see and all you have to say is its in the past and its false. I like the McGwire comparison because McGwire without a doubt did steroids! But wait Tom, we're all just throwing stones because nobody saw McGwire shoot up steroids so he must be innocent. Stevens needs to defend himself whether he likes it or not. His reputation in the league is also a joke. He may be the most hated player in the league. His own Seahawks team talked trash on him for gods sake.

[CDH]

Like I said before, all I hear is "Bla Bla Bla" move on to another topic please! If you don't like it...go buy you a Steve Smith jersey and pull for the Panthers! If it were Tom Brady coming to Tampa as our QB, and he had these prior alegations, no one would say a word...all you would hear is "Go Tom Brady! Our offense is going to be awsome this year! Go Bucs!"

[Tom]

DR, where did you get your information about Stevens?

Am I correct if I say the Seattle Times article? Is there any other source? So you, Duemig, Ron and Ian and John Romano proclaim to know the real truth based upon one newspaper article. To wish the worst future for this kid without knowing the truth is ignorant. Do we know for certain that sex was not consensual? A lot of people are wrongly accused. And I'm not suggesting that Stevens is innocent. Just that we don't know for sure. And I'm not going to get too excited about ONE Seattle Times article.

Like I said, this whole lynching of Stevens is nonsense. I just think he sucks as a TE. I'd rather put some emphasis on Ben Troupe. He has as much talent, proven he can play and doesn't get in trouble.

[Mike]

You should be sick of the Stevens saga, you guys wrote 6 articles on it. I know most of us would rather hear about football news.

[DR]

Tom, a guy like Stevens, who committed felony assault in high school, he helped beat another student over the head with a bat, (which was pleaded down to a misdemeanor-go figure), hit and ran a nursing home, while on probation, got busted for DUI and served 2 days in jail, light sentence, then 4 years later, get busted for DUI again, blowing over a .20, served 12 days for that, another light sentence, with this kind of garbage, there is no reason to suspect he r@ped a girl!!!???? He seems like the violent type and certainly fits the description. Heck, he even paid her off in civil court because there was evidence to get him.
This guy is a living waste. A Robert Edwards type injury wouldn't be good enough!

[Russ]

Does any of this hype sound familiar. Can you say Blue Devils?

[Drew]

Instead of writing about the team positive's, they write about every @%(!*#^ negative thing they believe we'll read.

All of you are empowered to stop reading the BS and when they realize no ones reading the column it stops.

[Vince]

Classic -- now the Times has updated the article (re-hashed) and removed the link to the small blog entry that contained Stephen's response while leaving the link to the Seattle Times article and Romano's piece. Even if Stephens is a total turd, doesn't the Times feel any obligation to report both sides? Probably not because the Stephen's story meshes with the Times' world view (Gruden is bad, Dungy was great). Football stats do not support this world view, so this is what the Times is left with. Pathetic.

[Bob]

"Heck, he even paid her off in civil court because there was evidence to get him."

What an ignorant remark DR! How could you possibly know that that's why he did it? In any case, it looks like there was nothing to it because no decent person would give up justice for money. In the end, we really don't know a thing!

[Steve L]

I don't mean to sound cynical, but it seems as if the alleged crime were the true onus of the allegations made, nothing short of a guilty conviction would have sufficed for the victim. Evidence was plentiful apparently. Instead we have a tidy settlement. I think that says as much about the alleged victim as it does about the alleged perpetrator.

Stevens is most certainly no choirboy, but he’s been clean since his arrival so I’m not sure why criticism are now being made a year after his signing. Romano’s column was short sighted and ill advised (regardless of how Steven’s turns out). Revisionist history is the easiest type of prognostication there is. I terms of NFL thugs, sadly Steven’s is probably near the middle of the pack. As an earlier Blogger noted, Ray Lewis is still deified as are many other “reformed” athletes. Let’s move on and get this season started. Everything else will work itself out.

[Steve L]

I don't mean to sound cynical, but it seems as if the alleged crime were the true onus of the allegations made, nothing short of a guilty conviction would have sufficed for the victim. Evidence was plentiful apparently. Instead we have a tidy settlement. I think that says as much about the alleged victim as it does about the alleged perpetrator.

Stevens is most certainly no choirboy, but he’s been clean since his arrival so I’m not sure why criticism are now being made a year after his signing. Romano’s column was short sighted and ill advised (regardless of how Steven’s turns out). Revisionist history is the easiest type of prognostication there is. I terms of NFL thugs, sadly Steven’s is probably near the middle of the pack. As an earlier Blogger noted, Ray Lewis is still deified as are many other “reformed” athletes. Let’s move on and get this season started. Everything else will work itself out.

[DR]

Bob, in civil court, you pay because there is enough evidence to humiliate you and a good enough chance to be found at fault and pay even more money. Thats a fact. Like I said, if you didn't do anything wrong, why are you paying out a large amount of money? Look at Michael Jackson, he paid $26M to the accusers family, but I guess he did nothing either. To call him innocent of this crime is being completely blind and biased. The victim may have decided to just take the settlement and move on with her life and not relive the experience. What is wrong with that? She gave up after dealing with a corrupt system who are Washington fans, a college that sucks every year.

[Allen from Tampa]

New website:

FireJerramyStevens.com

Allen from Tampa