The dopey teen who leaped from the upper deck of Yankee Stadium in a pathetic bid to make the ESPN highlight reel is the "local knucklehead" in his hometown — and he told cops he had sucked down several beers before his sorry swan dive, sources said yesterday.

Ironically, Scott Harper's bid for sports fame was cut short when producers at ESPN caught wind that the fall was a stunt, and yanked the clip after a single airing.

"Once we found that out, we decided not to glorify it," said network spokesman Dan Quinn.

Harper was arraigned last night on a slew of misdemeanor charges that could land him in jail for a year.

He was released without bail and was whisked wordlessly from the courthouse by relatives and his Legal Aid lawyer.

Harper, an 18-year-old aspiring rapper from the Westchester town of Armonk, has a reputation in the community as a "local knucklehead," said one cop, adding that he was notorious for causing all sorts of mayhem at Byram Hills HS.

"Scottie walks to the beat of his own drummer," said neighbor Michael Andreozzi. "He's a wild kid, a hyper kid. His mother always had her hands full."

"It's his personality," said Nina Schwartz, 22. "He's very loud. He just craves attention. He just went a little bit overboard this time."

Harper upped the ante late Tuesday night by plunging 50 feet from the upper deck into netting behind home plate during the eighth inning of the Yankees' 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The dazed and seemingly unhurt Harper was then quickly yanked from the netting by security, whisked to Lincoln Hospital and later arrested. Under questioning, the underage teen admitted having "several beers" before jumping, a police source said.

Yankees officials did not return several calls for comment on whether the teen was served beer at the Stadium.

Friends described Harper as a loud kid who would often rap in the hallways of the high school and aggressively heckle players at the school's sporting events.

A member of a rap group called Still Birth, Harper — whose nom de rap is "Non-Existent" — graduated from high school in the spring and is set to start at Westchester Community College in the fall.


Harper's pals at the game — Mike Spadafino, 17, Spencer Rubicco, 18, and Giuseppe Tripi, 20 — said Harper spent several minutes before taking the plunge wondering aloud if the net would hold him if he jumped.