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Author's Note: House of Sparky respects the reporting of Sports Illustrated and thus takes its report as fact. However, Davon Durant tweeted this Wednesday night disputing his dismissal:
False info I am not dismissed .
— Davon Durant (@DurantDavon) July 16, 2015
UPDATE: Durant's twitter has been made private. That tells you enough regarding his status as an ASU football player. However, the exact language of "dismissing" a player pertains only to those enrolled in classes, which Durant was not. So technically he was right. Kind of. Still not going to play for ASU.
The issue of domestic violence is one that plagues American society as a whole, but the problem is at its most magnified in sports, and situations in which a player's integrity as a human being comes into question have become all too familiar for fans of football.
Todd Graham has spent the spring deliberating on what to do in regards to the first issue of domestic violence that he's faced at Arizona State, weighing his morals against the on-field talent of Davon Durant. On Wednesday, Graham chose morals.
As first reported by SI.com, Graham notified Durant of his release from the team as a result of his March 7 arrest, with Durant's girlfriend accusing the new Sun Devil of domestic violence and aggravated assault. Durant's girlfriend later recanted her story and all three counts held against Durant were dropped after he accepted a plea deal.
While off with a slap on the wrist, Durant's status with his team was terminally effected.
"We don't just talk about character and discipline," Graham told SI's Thayer Evans. "We live it. No matter what the legal system does, our standards are high and our guys know that. They know they're going to be held accountable."
Durant's dismissal won't induce outrage and rather has received praise in early reactions, but the fact that he won't be chasing down quarterbacks for ASU is a disappointment.
Durant was rated as the top outside linebacker coming out of junior college, and the five-star was ASU's first of that designation since Burfict, who was recruited by Dennis Erickson.
Durant was an early enrollee but his arrest prevented him from seeing the practice field in spring, and his next step football-wise will likely see him transfer to a lower-tier school.