CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — A former Clarion University quarterback is in trouble with Clarion County law enforcement officials for the second time since May of 2018.
Jovante Alexander Seard — who played a key role during Clarion’s four-game win streak during the 2018 season — was arrested for the second time since May 6, 2018, this past week when he was charged on December 13, 2018, on allegations that he sold marijuana to a confidential informant on three separate occasions between September 18, 2018, and December 11, 2018, in Clarion Borough.
That arrest by CNET came on the heels of a May 6, 2018 arrest by Clarion Borough Police along with Clarion University teammate Khalil Webster on a multitude of charges including drug charges and resisting arrest. Seard, who was listed on the football roster as being from Hyattsville, Md., was entered into the ARD program in late October for that arrest and was instructed to not consume any alcoholic beverage or illegal drugs and to perform 25 hours of community service as part of the ARD requirements.
Seard, who was 37 of 68 passing for 471 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions during the 2018 season, his first for the Golden Eagles, had been listed as a junior on the Clarion University football roster during the 2018 season. But, a spokesperson for the university’s athletic department said he was no longer on the team as of Saturday, December 15.
“The university became aware of Mr. Seard’s recent arrest the morning of December 15, 2018,” Clarion University Sports Information Director Sean Fagan wrote in an e-mail to exploreClarion. “He is no longer on the football team and is no longer enrolled at the university.”
A quick search of the football team’s roster on the Clarion University Athletics website on the evening of December 15, 2018, still showed Seard on the roster and listed as a junior. But, Seard’s name and bio had been removed from the website as of the afternoon of December 16, 2018. A search of social media also found an Instagram post by Seard from December 15, 2018, showing Seard in a suit and tie with a graduation cap on talking about his graduation from Clarion University.
exploreClarion also confirmed through a source close to the situation that Seard did indeed graduate from Clarion University on December 15, 2018, and it was that source’s belief that Seard had still been on the football team at the time of his graduation.
Fagan said Clarion University was aware of Seard’s arrest in May.
“The university did know about his arrest in the spring, and he was given sanctions by the department of intercollegiate athletics as well as adjudication by the university,” Fagan said.
When Fagan was asked what “sanctions” and “adjudication” were, he said he was prohibited by law to reveal either.
“Specific actions taken are covered by FERPA,” Fagan said. “We are unable to comment further.”
Fagan invoked FERPA as well when asked when Seard had been removed from the football team and if that removal was voluntary or involuntary by Seard and if Seard had ever been drug tested by the athletic department as part of his scholarship.
FERPA is the acronym for The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and applies to all schools that received funds under an applicable program of the United State Department of Education.
Clarion was at least Seard’s second post-secondary school. In 2013, Seard was listed as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Despite the four-game win streak, Clarion finished 2018 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the PSAC West and has gone 9-24 overall and 6-15 in the PSAC West since the start of the 2016 season, the second under head coach Chris Weibel, who will be entering his fifth season at his alma mater in 2019 with a career record of 16-28.
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