Ranger Mom
08-03-2005, 11:51 PM
Deion must file more paperwork involving Devine
By David Dorsey
ddorsey@news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on August 2, 2005
Deion Sanders has some work to do before fellow former North Fort Myers High School football star Noel Devine can fall under his legal guardianship and be eligible to play varsity football at Prosper (Texas) High School.
As of today, Sanders is the "petitioning" guardian of Devine, who is eligible for junior varsity but not varsity football in Texas, according to Texas rules.
In order for that to change, Sanders must seek legal guardianship of Devine in a Texas courtroom, not a Lee County one, Circuit Court Judge R. Thomas Corbin said Monday during a hearing at the Lee County Courthouse.
Then, in order for Devine to be eligible to play varsity football at Prosper, Sanders and Devine must go through a hardship appeal hearing with the Texas University Interscholastic League, which governs high school sports in Texas.
Under Texas rules, players living with a guardian must have lived with that guardian for a full calender year before the start of that sport's season.
The hardship hearings take about a week to arrange and then decide, said Mark Cousins, the athletic coordinator in Texas. But the first step will be finalizing the guardianship.
School will begin in Prosper on Monday, Aug. 15, with its first varsity game scheduled for Friday, Aug. 26.
"If I open this guardianship, all I'm going to do is immediately close it, so it can be done in Texas," Corbin told Harley Brook, the lawyer representing Sanders, at a 9 a.m. conference Monday at the Lee County Courthouse.
Although Corbin said he would consider Sanders' request, he cited Florida statute 744.202, which says that guardianship transfer must take place in the county of future residency.
Devine, a running back who is one of the nation's top high school football players, lived with his grandmother, Lee Bertha Thomas, since he was 3. His father died when he was an infant, and his mother died five years ago.
Devine had spent the past three years, off and on, living with the family of a former North teammate, Robert Harlow Jr.
A string of recent bad decisions and circumstances, including Devine's presence with Harlow Jr. at the shooting death of a teenage friend in December, prompted Sanders — a 1985 North High graduate — to seek guardianship of Devine.
Devine, an incoming junior, enrolled at Prosper on Friday, said its coach, John Pease. Devine rushed for a total of 2,760 yards and 34 touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore at North.
Devine, who wore jersey No. 7 at North, picked out No. 1 at Prosper. He will miss the first week of practice in order to spend time with Sanders at the Baltimore Ravens' training camp this week in Westminster, Md.
Devine and Sanders were at training camp Monday.
"I do have a problem with it, but Deion needs to spend time with him," Pease said of Devine missing practice. "When he gets back, I'll run him a little bit extra. It's not like he's just skipping practice. He's doing what's best for him."
Pease said he was not concerned about Devine's eligibility.
"It's just a matter of getting the paperwork done," Pease said. "When he was here, he seemed excited to be here. He was laughing and joking with everyone. He was all smiles."
For Devine and Sanders, the smiles likely will widen when and if he becomes eligible for varsity football.
"This is a 17-year-old who has had a tremendous amount of tragedy in his life," Brook said. "Mr. Sanders was touched by all of this. It's purely a labor of love."
Thomas said she was relieved for her grandson to get a fresh start.
"It is a relief, because I know that once he's there, he'll blend in," she said. "It will make it easier for him to look at what he's leaving behind. Now, he can move forward."
Thomas said she's comfortable with Devine's new living arrangement. When Sanders is out of town, Sanders' wife, Pilar Biggars, will watch Devine.
"We call her Miss P," Thomas said. "She's a very nice person. She's very disciplined. So, he will be well taken care of."
Pleading guilty
The teenager charged with the shooting death of a friend of Noel Devine's pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday, said Kenneth Garber, the boy's defense attorney.
Clyde Lamar Robinson, who was 15 at the time of the Dec. 30, 2004, shooting in North Fort Myers, pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of Rashard Patterson, who was 15.
According to numerous amounts of testimony taken by Lee County Sheriff's deputies, Devine, Patterson and several friends, including Devine's former North High teammate and roommate, Robert Harlow Jr., were going to pick a fight with Robinson, who emerged from his girlfriend's home with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Patterson.
"There have been some discussions ongoing between the state and the defense," Garber said. "We were able to reach an agreement."
Patterson, who is in the Lee County Jail, could face up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 24.
"I feel like it was a fair resolution under all the circumstances," Garber said.
By David Dorsey
ddorsey@news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on August 2, 2005
Deion Sanders has some work to do before fellow former North Fort Myers High School football star Noel Devine can fall under his legal guardianship and be eligible to play varsity football at Prosper (Texas) High School.
As of today, Sanders is the "petitioning" guardian of Devine, who is eligible for junior varsity but not varsity football in Texas, according to Texas rules.
In order for that to change, Sanders must seek legal guardianship of Devine in a Texas courtroom, not a Lee County one, Circuit Court Judge R. Thomas Corbin said Monday during a hearing at the Lee County Courthouse.
Then, in order for Devine to be eligible to play varsity football at Prosper, Sanders and Devine must go through a hardship appeal hearing with the Texas University Interscholastic League, which governs high school sports in Texas.
Under Texas rules, players living with a guardian must have lived with that guardian for a full calender year before the start of that sport's season.
The hardship hearings take about a week to arrange and then decide, said Mark Cousins, the athletic coordinator in Texas. But the first step will be finalizing the guardianship.
School will begin in Prosper on Monday, Aug. 15, with its first varsity game scheduled for Friday, Aug. 26.
"If I open this guardianship, all I'm going to do is immediately close it, so it can be done in Texas," Corbin told Harley Brook, the lawyer representing Sanders, at a 9 a.m. conference Monday at the Lee County Courthouse.
Although Corbin said he would consider Sanders' request, he cited Florida statute 744.202, which says that guardianship transfer must take place in the county of future residency.
Devine, a running back who is one of the nation's top high school football players, lived with his grandmother, Lee Bertha Thomas, since he was 3. His father died when he was an infant, and his mother died five years ago.
Devine had spent the past three years, off and on, living with the family of a former North teammate, Robert Harlow Jr.
A string of recent bad decisions and circumstances, including Devine's presence with Harlow Jr. at the shooting death of a teenage friend in December, prompted Sanders — a 1985 North High graduate — to seek guardianship of Devine.
Devine, an incoming junior, enrolled at Prosper on Friday, said its coach, John Pease. Devine rushed for a total of 2,760 yards and 34 touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore at North.
Devine, who wore jersey No. 7 at North, picked out No. 1 at Prosper. He will miss the first week of practice in order to spend time with Sanders at the Baltimore Ravens' training camp this week in Westminster, Md.
Devine and Sanders were at training camp Monday.
"I do have a problem with it, but Deion needs to spend time with him," Pease said of Devine missing practice. "When he gets back, I'll run him a little bit extra. It's not like he's just skipping practice. He's doing what's best for him."
Pease said he was not concerned about Devine's eligibility.
"It's just a matter of getting the paperwork done," Pease said. "When he was here, he seemed excited to be here. He was laughing and joking with everyone. He was all smiles."
For Devine and Sanders, the smiles likely will widen when and if he becomes eligible for varsity football.
"This is a 17-year-old who has had a tremendous amount of tragedy in his life," Brook said. "Mr. Sanders was touched by all of this. It's purely a labor of love."
Thomas said she was relieved for her grandson to get a fresh start.
"It is a relief, because I know that once he's there, he'll blend in," she said. "It will make it easier for him to look at what he's leaving behind. Now, he can move forward."
Thomas said she's comfortable with Devine's new living arrangement. When Sanders is out of town, Sanders' wife, Pilar Biggars, will watch Devine.
"We call her Miss P," Thomas said. "She's a very nice person. She's very disciplined. So, he will be well taken care of."
Pleading guilty
The teenager charged with the shooting death of a friend of Noel Devine's pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday, said Kenneth Garber, the boy's defense attorney.
Clyde Lamar Robinson, who was 15 at the time of the Dec. 30, 2004, shooting in North Fort Myers, pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of Rashard Patterson, who was 15.
According to numerous amounts of testimony taken by Lee County Sheriff's deputies, Devine, Patterson and several friends, including Devine's former North High teammate and roommate, Robert Harlow Jr., were going to pick a fight with Robinson, who emerged from his girlfriend's home with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Patterson.
"There have been some discussions ongoing between the state and the defense," Garber said. "We were able to reach an agreement."
Patterson, who is in the Lee County Jail, could face up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 24.
"I feel like it was a fair resolution under all the circumstances," Garber said.