People think the A-Rod situation in New York is bad. That is nothing compared to the Clarett saga. At the time, I personally felt Clarett ruined/tainted the national championship year. After watching the game numerous times, I was no longer able to bring myself to look at the game footage with Clarett playing such a pivotal role.
Clarett continued to exasperate OSU’s athletic department by making more mistakes. When the OSU program finally pulled the plug on Clarett, he continued to make poor decisions. Clarett decided to enter the 2004 NFL draft, and he surrounded himself with people looking out for themselves, not the athlete. The only problem was the NFL’s draft restriction policy. After several legal proceedings, the ruling was in the NFL’s favor. Clarett had signed with an agent and was forced to sit out another year. Clarett came to the 2005 NFL draft combine grossly out of shape. The Denver Broncos surprisingly took a flyer on Clarett in the third round. Clarett still behaved like he had entitlement. This got him the boot from Mike Shanahan.
In three short years, Clarett has been arrested twice and is out of football. He is looking at a long prison sentence. I think Clarett had a taste of success earlier than he was able to handle it. Clarett behaved in a manner that isolated him from teammates, coaches, and fans. He had no one looking after his best interest. He was surrounded by vultures that were looking out for themselves.
After the amazing story of Clarett’s latest arrest, I can’t help but feel partly responsible for it all. I jumped off the Clarett train as easily as I had jumped on August 24, 2002. I rode the train all the way to the national championship and tried not to look back.
But, with each negative Clarett story, he proves it is not easy to sever relationships.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Perhaps they moved the state penitentiary to Youngstown for this very occasion.
2 - Valerie_Flame
Does anyone know why he was wearing a bulletproof vest? Did he just lose his mind? I suppose so...
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
That wasn't a bulletproof vest -- he just spilled Night Train.
4 - M.D. Sandwasher
I made a ghastly error in the article. I said that Maurice Clarett had his first taste of college football success before his first academic class. That is not true. Clarett graduated from high school in December, so he could enroll in OSU early. This undoubtedly led to the early opportunities Clarett received as a freshman. Thankfully, a reader pointed out my mistake. After rereading the piece several times, I overlooked the blemish each time.
5 - Jet in Columbus
I remember when all of us in Columbus sang his praises as a hero. alas
6 - M.D. Sandwasher
Did you hear the latest twist on Clarett? He was arrested within a mile of his accuser’s home in an earlier robbery charge. The witness is set to testify against Clarett in the trial that starts this Monday. That’s probably why he was wearing a bullet proof vest. It’s scary to imagine what Clarett would have done if police had not intervened.
7 - Jet in Columbus
He's also set for another hearing tomorrow, and it may be about his fitness to stand trial. This is going to get ugly...
All the details from the bulletproof vest to the assortment of weapons have been all over the local news.
8 - M.D. Sandwasher
I can’t even imagine the media frenzy going on in C-Bus. During football season, the news outlets will have a fifteen minute segment on parking around the stadium. Now that the local stations have an actual story to run with, I bet this story dominates all the talk.