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BYU star Childs suspended 9 games for agent paperwork error

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The NCAA suspended BYU's Yoeli Childs for the first nine games of the 2019-20 season due to the forward signing with an agent earlier this year before filing the necessary paperwork, the team announced Friday.

After a stellar junior year during which he averaged 21.2 points and 9.7 rebounds, Childs announced he was hiring an agent and declaring for the NBA draft. The 21-year-old, however, later elected to return for a final season at BYU - a decision made possible due to new eligibility rules that the NCAA implemented ahead of last season.

The governing body ruled Childs did not follow the new procedures and handed him the ban. It also denied the school's attempt to appeal, according to Mitch Harper of KSL Sports.

"Amid the confusion of the NCAA allowing student-athletes to sign with agents and still return to school, Yoeli was caught in the transition of a changing landscape," Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a statement. "We are disappointed with the NCAA’s decision to withhold nine games of his senior season."

Childs denied deliberately attempting to circumvent NCAA rules.

"My intent wasn’t to do anything wrong," he said, according to Harper.

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