A Kent State football player has plead not guilty to assault and property damage charges and is awaiting his next court date.

Senior linebacker C.J. Steward is accused of assaulting fellow Kent State student Morgan Lepore Feb. 13 at the Province apartment complex near campus. Lepore, senior interior design major, accused Steward of pushing her into a closet door and damaging her television.

Lepore and Steward were coworkers at the Province, but Steward was fired Feb. 14 after Lepore filed a complaint with the company.

Steward was ordered to have no contact with Lepore by Kent Municipal Court on Feb. 27.

Troy Reeves, Steward’s attorney, said he tried to reach an agreement with the prosecution Wednesday at the pretrial, but the two sides couldn’t work out a deal.

Reeves also said a date for Steward’s next hearing has not been set, but he anticipates it will be three or four weeks from Wednesday.

A spokesman from the athletic department said Steward has been suspended from “all football and athletic-department related activities,” which is a common practice used by the university when an athlete is arrested.

Lepore said on Feb. 27 that she wouldn’t comment on the pending case, but she’ll be happy to tell her story when the case is closed.

Steward didn’t make an appearance in any games during the 2012 season, and he sat out the 2011 season with an injury.

Grant Engle is a city reporter for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact Grant Engle at [email protected].