Jerramy Stevens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Tampa Bay Buccaneers — No. 86 | |
| Tight end | |
| Date of birth: November 13, 1979 | |
| Place of birth: Boise, Idaho | |
| Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | Weight: 260 lb (120 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
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| 2002 for the Seattle Seahawks | |
| Career history | |
| College: Washington | |
| NFL Draft: 2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28 | |
Teams:
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| Current status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Jerramy Stevens (born November 13, 1979 in Boise, Idaho) is an American football tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks 28th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington.
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[edit] Early years
Stevens attended River Ridge High School and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, Stevens originally played quarterback. He passed for 7 yards as a senior.
During his senior year, he and another student were accused of beating a schoolmate over his head with a baseball bat and stomping on his face. The victim suffered a broken jaw and ate with a straw for six months. Stevens was charged with felony assault, but Thurston County prosecutors lowered the charges to assault in the fourth degree when they learned he did not use the bat, despite Stevens having repeatedly violated the terms of his home confinement while awaiting trial, Stevens pled guilty in open court to assault in the fourth degree, while the other student pled guilty to the felony assault with the bat.[1]
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Seattle Seahawks
Stevens was selected by his hometown Seattle Seahawks as their first-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft; he was the 28th player taken overall. Seattle traded its first-round (No. 20) and fifth-round (No. 156) choices to Green Bay for the Packers' first-round (No. 28) and second-round (No. 60) choices. Green Bay used the picks to select Javon Walker, a wide receiver from Florida State, and Aaron Kampman, a defensive end from Iowa. After picking Stevens, Seattle used the second-round choice to select Anton Palepoi, a defensive end from UNLV.
Before Super Bowl XL, Stevens said in a February 2, 2006 interview, "The story of Jerome Bettis returning to his hometown (Detroit) is heartwarming, but it's going be a sad day when he doesn't walk away with that trophy." This drew the ire of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter who in reaction to the statement said, "A guy running in and out on special teams shouldn't be sayin' things like that." On February 5, 2006 Stevens caught 3 passes for 25 yards in Super Bowl XL. Among his catches was Seattle's first-ever (and only) Super Bowl touchdown. However, he also dropped three key passes in the Seahawks' 21-10 loss to the Steelers.
On November 6, 2006 in a game against the Oakland Raiders, Jerramy Stevens was kneed in the groin by Raiders defensive end Tyler Brayton, who was then ejected from the game. Neither player was suspended, but Brayton was fined $25,000 by the NFL for the incident, and Stevens was fined $15,000 for his involvement, as well as an earlier taunting incident. [2]
Art Shell, the Raiders coach, said in an interview that Stevens was the instigator, and had tried to knee Brayton earlier. However Mike Holmgren, the Seahawks coach, responded by saying that Stevens was not attempting to strike Brayton, but was struggling for leverage which caused his leg to flare out. [3]
On March 20, 2007, Seattle general manager Tim Ruskell confirmed that Stevens' days with the Seahawks are done. "I would say it's probably a time for a change of scenery and to move on," Ruskell said. [4]This move was widely expected, as only hours after Stevens' arrest on March 13, the Seahawks signed veteran Marcus Pollard, giving them four tight ends.[5]
[edit] Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On April 29, 2007 he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He caught his first touchdown pass as a Buccaneer in Week 13 of the 2007 season against the New Orleans Saints, a 4-yard reception late in the 4th quarter which proved to be the game-winner.
On May 30, 2008, Stevens was re-signed by the Buccaneers after the team waived quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
On June 4, 2008, he was suspended for 2 games and fined 3 game checks after violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.[6]
[edit] Legal troubles
- On June 2, 1998, Stevens was arrested on charges of second-degree assault armed with a deadly weapon and fourth-degree assault. According to a police report, Stevens and a friend engaged in a fight with a 17-year-old and witnesses said Stevens stomped on the man's face. Stevens agreed to a plea deal of a charge of misdemeanor assault.
- On July 10, 1998, Stevens tested positive for marijuana and served a day in jail.
- On July 27, 2000, Stevens was arrested for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old University of Washington freshman. Stevens initially denied having sex with the accuser, but later admitted to having sex with her in the yard of a fraternity house in the early morning hours of June 4, 2000, after a fraternity party, but maintained it was consensual. However, a UW student who walked by and witnessed them having sex called 911 to report it as a possible rape, noting that the woman appeared to be drugged; he described her as "half passed out ... eyes glazed ... no one home."[7] [8] Stevens's semen was found in the victim, who was penetrated vaginally and anally, and numerous witnesses testified that she acted as if drugged at the party. Police suspected a date rape drug was given to the woman at the party, but blood samples were taken too late for testing.
Despite these suspicions, the King County prosecutor declined to file rape charges against Stevens due to "confusing and conflicting statements".[9] [10]
A civil suit, which resulted in a settlement, was later filed by the victim. The civil settlement was not publicly disclosed, but according to published reports included a $300,000 payment by Stevens to the plaintiff. The investigation and aftermath of this incident and the subsequent decision to not charge Stevens were reported by the Seattle Times. [11] [12]
- On May 4, 2001, Stevens was cited for reckless driving and hit and run after crashing into a nursing home. Stevens pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and causing property damage and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
- On April 3, 2003, Stevens was stopped by Medina, Washington police and was charged with reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was fined $1,000 and was sentenced to two days in jail because the judge ruled Stevens violated his probation from the hit-and-run case.
- On March 13, 2007, Stevens was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona for suspicion of DUI after his blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.204, over twice the legal limit of .08 and considered "extreme DUI" in Arizona. He was later found guilty in a court trial, and was subsequently sentenced to 12 days in jail and fined $3,160. [13]This sentence was later decreased to 10 days by a Scottsdale city judge.
- On March 20, 2007 the Seattle Times report that multiple complaints were raised against Stevens by other residents in his condominium complex. The complaints include, vomit on their doors, used condoms on the back porch, loud parties at all hours of the night, and various noise complaints. [15]
[edit] References
- ^ Seattle Times. Victory and ruins: The disturbing story behind the last great UW team — and how its legacy still casts a shadow on the Huskies. Retrieved on January 27, 2008.
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle. Brayton, Stevens fined by NFL, but avoid suspensions. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Seattle Times. Stevens takes lumps. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Tim Booth, Associated Press Writer. Seahawks GM says Turd Stevens won't be back in Seattle. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
- ^ United Press International. Seahawks sign TE Marcus Pollard. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/2008-06-04-4078684876_x.htm
- ^ Seattle Times. Convicted of assault and accused of rape, star player received raft of second chances. Retrieved on January 27, 2008.
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004147460_rbstevens270.html
- ^ Seattle Times. Convicted of assault and accused of rape, star player received raft of second chances. Retrieved on January 27, 2008.
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004147460_rbstevens270.html
- ^ Seattle Times. Convicted of assault and accused of rape, star player received raft of second chances. Retrieved on January 27, 2008.
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004147460_rbstevens270.html
- ^ azcentral. Tampa Bay TE, Stevens, gets 12 days in jail, fines for extreme DUI. Retrieved on January 1, 2008.
- ^ http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1002sr-stevens1003-ON.html
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003620813_brodeur16m.html
[edit] External links
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