Van Buren Won’t Be Buffaloed : Football: Wide receiver, concerned that Colorado might withdraw its offer, wants release from scholarship.

Leodes Van Buren said Wednesday he wants to be released from his football scholarship to Colorado because he fears the school might withdraw its offer even if he is acquitted of a weapons charge.

The Newbury Park High wide receiver said he was angered after his attorney told him that Colorado might revoke his scholarship because of his legal problems.

“They’re prejudging me,” Van Buren said. “Just because I was accused of doing something doesn’t mean I did it.”

Van Buren, 18, will be arraigned today in Ventura County Superior Court on a felony charge of firing a gunshot into his girlfriend’s Newbury Park home April 8. He will plead innocent and request a trial, said his attorney, John Miller.

“I’m very confident about this case,” Van Buren said. “Once I prove that I’m innocent, I’m going to go play football somewhere else and get an education.”

Whether he can play at another Division I school without losing a year of eligibility is another matter.

An athlete who fails to honor his letter of intent can lose one or two years of eligibility, according to Prentice Gautt, an associate commissioner of the Big Eight Conference, of which Colorado is a member.

But Gautt said there is precedence for a mutual release from a letter of intent without loss of eligibility in cases involving legal issues, litigation or questionable behavior. The case would be reviewed by a national letter of intent committee.

Miller said Wednesday he hoped to seek a release from the letter of intent without penalty, but had not yet spoken with Colorado officials to determine a course of action that would comply with NCAA and conference regulations.

But he agreed with Van Buren’s decision.

“I’m incensed by this,” Miller said. “Because someone has accused him (of a crime), the (Colorado) administration hasn’t even given him a chance. We don’t feel comfortable with a department that doesn’t believe in due process.”

At the time of Van Buren’s arrest, Colorado sports information director Dave Plati said that the scholarship was in jeopardy pending the outcome of the case. Plati said Wednesday he was unaware of any changes in the school’s position.

Colorado coaches could not be reached for comment.

Miller said he phoned the athletic department Tuesday to discuss Van Buren’s standing with the school.

“I asked, ‘If I get him acquitted, what are the various outcomes?’ I was told it really doesn’t matter (if he’s acquitted).”

Van Buren was arrested two months ago on suspicion of firing a shot into the home of his girlfriend, Marcie James. But Van Buren said the next day that a companion pulled the trigger and James, the key witness in the case, corroborated his account.

James, 19, has changed her story several times since that day--depending on the state of her relationship with Van Buren--but she testified under oath in a preliminary hearing May 26 that Van Buren did not fire the shot.

Van Buren led Newbury Park to the Southern Section Division III championship last fall. He is the state’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yardage.

“I wish Colorado the best of luck with football,” Van Buren said. “But they won’t be having me.

“I’ll go win a national championship somewhere else.”