This article is about a new University of Oklahoma (surprise!) recruit who went to the movies, only to have some "bad luck" and end up breaking into a car and being jailed for it. I swear, no one can make stuff like this up.
Edit: Fixed
[url]http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/colleges/big _12_conference/16648182.htm?source=rss&channel=kansascit y_big_12_conference[/url]
<H1>A big day, a new start</H1>
<H2>After legal trouble and a suspension, Blue Springs' Donald Stephenson is glad Oklahoma stuck by him.</H2>
<H5>By CANDACE BUCKNER</H5>
<H6>The Kansas City Star</H6>
Donald Stephenson wakes early in the cold morning, takes a shower and grabs his new Oklahoma hat with tags still attached. He's ready for his big moment.
It's national signing day, when high school boys and girls celebrate their athletic achievements, and the Sooners need Stephenson's letter of intent faxed in immediately.
Stephenson and his mother, Ethel, walk silently to his car. A radio station in Oklahoma calls his cell phone for an interview. He doesn't wear a white dress shirt, necktie or slacks. Stephenson's clothed in a Scarface hoodie and jeans. There's no special ceremony set up at Blue Springs High School. And Stephenson can't walk inside there anyway, so he's heading to Office Depot.
On Wednesday, national signing day, Stephenson, the Central transfer whose injury-depleted senior season at Blue Springs helped him earn a Division I scholarship, was serving a 10-day suspension. A few weeks back, Stephenson went to a school dance, and, as he describes, ran into some "bad luck." As for Stephenson's actions that night, Blue Springs athletic director Tim Crone says it led to a "discipline situation that we're handling at school."
So when television stations called Blue Springs to stage a signing-day shoot with its biggest recruit, Wildcats coach Kelly Donohoe asked them to come another day.
But that's not the end of Stephenson's troubles.
The day after Christmas, Stephenson went to a movie with two friends. The show was sold out, and, instead of sitting inside a darkened theater, Stephenson spent that night in a Leawood jail cell. Stephenson was arrested and charged with multiple counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, theft and criminal damage.
"I just had bad luck, that's about it," Stephenson says. "I'd rather not talk about that. I've never went through anything like this, and it's all just piling on me my senior year."
It's overwhelming for Ethel Stephenson, the devout mother. Not so much the off-the-field troubles, but her son's last great act of his senior season  his signing ceremony.
"I trained Donald up through the word of God," she says. "The only way you can train them up is through the word of God, and I guarantee there will be success and greatness. I've known from the time in the delivery room to the time now. I've always told him there is greatness in him."
Ethel leans on the Office Depot counter, ignoring the coffee she just brewed. She watches her son pen his signature on every sheet. She thinks about all of his tomorrows.
"I'll be glad when all this is over," Ethel says, "and we get back to normal."
Donald longs for those normal, quiet days again, too. Right now, Stephenson's the big-time college offensive lineman. An Office Depot employee named Jeanne lights up when told she's faxing copies for Oklahoma's latest recruit. She doesn't question why Stephenson's at her counter at 8:58 a.m. instead of at school.
"Voila! Five pages sent," Jeanne exclaims, then shows Stephenson the confirmation page. "And the fax is on me. You don't have to pay for it."
Stephenson flashes his dimpled smile.
"That's the least I can do," Jeanne gushes. "We've got a celebrity here!"
Stephenson appreciates the gesture, but more than anything else he wants his reputation back. He knows people are talking.
"That's what I'm really afraid of. I can sit here and say as long as the coaches know that I'm a good kid it doesn't matter, but you never know," Stephenson says. "I'm not saying that it would, but if something bad happens again, everybody would say: 'Oh, there goes Donald again. He's that type of kid coming from the inner city.' Stuff like that, and I tried too hard not to be that type of person and I don't want people to think that."
Stephenson and his friends are facing eight counts of criminal activity. There was one smashed Mitsubishi Gallant window and a black iPod taken. A purse, wristwatch and disposable camera were taken from another car. Baseball equipment and a carton of caramel bars were stolen from a black 1996 Saturn.
"I don't like to call it mistakes. I like to call it sin," Ethel said. "I thank God that he is going through this discipline season. I know he won't go astray any more."
Teachers at Central, Stephenson's former school, were shocked. Although Central administration declined to comment about Stephenson, teacher Frankie Kopp remembers her former Desktop Publishing sophomore student as a confident, goal-driven young man.
"I have to admit, when I first heard about the incident, I was shocked. He could be a typical teenager. He could be stubborn, bullheaded and obnoxious at times, but he also was capable, and he never faltered or lost sight of what he wanted to do," Kopp said. "He got caught up in a moment, I'd say. ... I just thought he was smarter than that."
Stephenson's attorney Jack Luther refused to discuss details of the case, other than that Stephenson has submitted a diversion application and his next court date is March 16. If convicted, Stephenson could face up to five to 17 months in county jail on each of four felony counts and up to one year for the misdemeanors. The sentence is dependent on prior criminal record, and Stephenson has no prior arrests, he said.
Oklahoma has stood by all along. When Stephenson visited Norman in January, coaches didn't talk about arrests and pending court dates, Stephenson said. They wanted to test his agility and pass stance. Stephenson was a tad rusty. He missed six games with a broken left big toe, but as little as he did play, Stephenson impressed a host of Division I programs.
"(His) potential and dominance were phenomenal," Donohoe says. "So I understand why he was recruited."
Stephenson's just happy Oklahoma stuck by him. After hearing news of his arrest, Michigan passed. Oklahoma's vote of confidence is important to Stephenson. Donohoe has stayed loyal, something Stephenson is grateful for, but he is slightly disappointed he didn't get to sign his scholarship in front of his coach.
With things finished at Office Depot, Stephenson leaves and takes a shortcut on Northwest Ashton Drive, next to Blue Springs High School. He glances twice at the passing building and, while driving 38 miles per hour in a school zone, fails to notice the police officer clocking speeders from the parking lot. Stephenson sighs as the officer asks for his driver's license and insurance card, because he has neither. After signing a full-ride scholarship, he now signs a ticket citation. The court date is March 17.
"That's just my luck," Stephenson mumbles.
<DIV =-end>
<DIV =tagline>
<HR =tagline color=#cccccc SIZE=1>
To reach Candace Buckner, high school columnist for The Star, call (816) 234-4389 or send e-mail to cbuckner@kcstar.com
Edited by: eaxs
Edit: Fixed
[url]http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/colleges/big _12_conference/16648182.htm?source=rss&channel=kansascit y_big_12_conference[/url]
<H1>A big day, a new start</H1>
<H2>After legal trouble and a suspension, Blue Springs' Donald Stephenson is glad Oklahoma stuck by him.</H2>
<H5>By CANDACE BUCKNER</H5>
<H6>The Kansas City Star</H6>
Donald Stephenson wakes early in the cold morning, takes a shower and grabs his new Oklahoma hat with tags still attached. He's ready for his big moment.
It's national signing day, when high school boys and girls celebrate their athletic achievements, and the Sooners need Stephenson's letter of intent faxed in immediately.
Stephenson and his mother, Ethel, walk silently to his car. A radio station in Oklahoma calls his cell phone for an interview. He doesn't wear a white dress shirt, necktie or slacks. Stephenson's clothed in a Scarface hoodie and jeans. There's no special ceremony set up at Blue Springs High School. And Stephenson can't walk inside there anyway, so he's heading to Office Depot.
On Wednesday, national signing day, Stephenson, the Central transfer whose injury-depleted senior season at Blue Springs helped him earn a Division I scholarship, was serving a 10-day suspension. A few weeks back, Stephenson went to a school dance, and, as he describes, ran into some "bad luck." As for Stephenson's actions that night, Blue Springs athletic director Tim Crone says it led to a "discipline situation that we're handling at school."
So when television stations called Blue Springs to stage a signing-day shoot with its biggest recruit, Wildcats coach Kelly Donohoe asked them to come another day.
But that's not the end of Stephenson's troubles.
The day after Christmas, Stephenson went to a movie with two friends. The show was sold out, and, instead of sitting inside a darkened theater, Stephenson spent that night in a Leawood jail cell. Stephenson was arrested and charged with multiple counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, theft and criminal damage.
"I just had bad luck, that's about it," Stephenson says. "I'd rather not talk about that. I've never went through anything like this, and it's all just piling on me my senior year."
It's overwhelming for Ethel Stephenson, the devout mother. Not so much the off-the-field troubles, but her son's last great act of his senior season  his signing ceremony.
"I trained Donald up through the word of God," she says. "The only way you can train them up is through the word of God, and I guarantee there will be success and greatness. I've known from the time in the delivery room to the time now. I've always told him there is greatness in him."
Ethel leans on the Office Depot counter, ignoring the coffee she just brewed. She watches her son pen his signature on every sheet. She thinks about all of his tomorrows.
"I'll be glad when all this is over," Ethel says, "and we get back to normal."
Donald longs for those normal, quiet days again, too. Right now, Stephenson's the big-time college offensive lineman. An Office Depot employee named Jeanne lights up when told she's faxing copies for Oklahoma's latest recruit. She doesn't question why Stephenson's at her counter at 8:58 a.m. instead of at school.
"Voila! Five pages sent," Jeanne exclaims, then shows Stephenson the confirmation page. "And the fax is on me. You don't have to pay for it."
Stephenson flashes his dimpled smile.
"That's the least I can do," Jeanne gushes. "We've got a celebrity here!"
Stephenson appreciates the gesture, but more than anything else he wants his reputation back. He knows people are talking.
"That's what I'm really afraid of. I can sit here and say as long as the coaches know that I'm a good kid it doesn't matter, but you never know," Stephenson says. "I'm not saying that it would, but if something bad happens again, everybody would say: 'Oh, there goes Donald again. He's that type of kid coming from the inner city.' Stuff like that, and I tried too hard not to be that type of person and I don't want people to think that."
Stephenson and his friends are facing eight counts of criminal activity. There was one smashed Mitsubishi Gallant window and a black iPod taken. A purse, wristwatch and disposable camera were taken from another car. Baseball equipment and a carton of caramel bars were stolen from a black 1996 Saturn.
"I don't like to call it mistakes. I like to call it sin," Ethel said. "I thank God that he is going through this discipline season. I know he won't go astray any more."
Teachers at Central, Stephenson's former school, were shocked. Although Central administration declined to comment about Stephenson, teacher Frankie Kopp remembers her former Desktop Publishing sophomore student as a confident, goal-driven young man.
"I have to admit, when I first heard about the incident, I was shocked. He could be a typical teenager. He could be stubborn, bullheaded and obnoxious at times, but he also was capable, and he never faltered or lost sight of what he wanted to do," Kopp said. "He got caught up in a moment, I'd say. ... I just thought he was smarter than that."
Stephenson's attorney Jack Luther refused to discuss details of the case, other than that Stephenson has submitted a diversion application and his next court date is March 16. If convicted, Stephenson could face up to five to 17 months in county jail on each of four felony counts and up to one year for the misdemeanors. The sentence is dependent on prior criminal record, and Stephenson has no prior arrests, he said.
Oklahoma has stood by all along. When Stephenson visited Norman in January, coaches didn't talk about arrests and pending court dates, Stephenson said. They wanted to test his agility and pass stance. Stephenson was a tad rusty. He missed six games with a broken left big toe, but as little as he did play, Stephenson impressed a host of Division I programs.
"(His) potential and dominance were phenomenal," Donohoe says. "So I understand why he was recruited."
Stephenson's just happy Oklahoma stuck by him. After hearing news of his arrest, Michigan passed. Oklahoma's vote of confidence is important to Stephenson. Donohoe has stayed loyal, something Stephenson is grateful for, but he is slightly disappointed he didn't get to sign his scholarship in front of his coach.
With things finished at Office Depot, Stephenson leaves and takes a shortcut on Northwest Ashton Drive, next to Blue Springs High School. He glances twice at the passing building and, while driving 38 miles per hour in a school zone, fails to notice the police officer clocking speeders from the parking lot. Stephenson sighs as the officer asks for his driver's license and insurance card, because he has neither. After signing a full-ride scholarship, he now signs a ticket citation. The court date is March 17.
"That's just my luck," Stephenson mumbles.
<DIV =-end>
<DIV =tagline>
<HR =tagline color=#cccccc SIZE=1>
To reach Candace Buckner, high school columnist for The Star, call (816) 234-4389 or send e-mail to cbuckner@kcstar.com
Edited by: eaxs
