http://sports.excite.com/news/09102003/v0180.html Clarett Suspended for 2003 Season Sep 10, 3:35 PM (ET) By RUSTY MILLER COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett, accused of lying to NCAA and school investigators, will be suspended for the entire season. "This is a sad day," Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said Wednesday as he announced the penalty. Scott Schiff, Clarett's attorney, said Ohio State will not take away Clarett's scholarship, but he may not stay at the school. "He's considering his options right now," Schiff said. Clarett, his mother and Schiff met earlier Wednesday with Geiger. Clarett had been suspended from the team while the NCAA and Ohio State investigated his finances. Ohio State has been working for more than two weeks on a response to "several pages" of allegations sent by the NCAA to the university. Ohio State can appeal for Clarett's reinstatement after the year suspension is complete. "We hope the NCAA decides that the penalties are sufficient," Geiger said.
This whole thing completes stinks. There is something serious going on at Ohio State that they're not letting out. This guy is getting suspended for a whole season for misdemeanor lying, fraud. Lawrence Phillips tossed his girlfriend down a flight of stairs and played out the season but this guy lies about stuff stolen out of his car and he's gone for the year? That makes nooooo sense at all. I think maybe some Ohio State boosters had their hands in the cookie jar and now they're trying to dump the body before anyone finds out.
Timing, I think it is a lot more than that. Factor in the issue of someone else taking his exams etc...and I can see why. He should be suspended. Good for Ohio State. DD
There's a lot of things going on that have ticked off teh University: 1. Last year before the Fiesta bowl he went to the media when a friend of his was killed and the University wouldn't fly him back from Tempe from the Funeral (all he had to do was fill out some paperwork and it woudl have been done but he refused to do it). This turned in a huge p1ssing match with the AD 2. He's been driving illegal (meaning a dealrship gave tehm to him) vehicles since he's been on campus which came to light when he car was broken into 3. He filed the false police report 4. When the investigation started OSU asked him to lay low. Instead he shows up on ESPN Gameday before the Washington game and does an interview and parked another "questionable" vehicle in a lot he was not suppose to be in (he talked his way in by saying do you know who I am) 5. Before the Washington game he got into an argument with OSU coaches because he wanted to wear his jersey on the sideline 6. I have no ideas about academic issue with him My take is Maurice is very immature and gets himself in very bad situations (and he really p1ssed of the AD). OSU wants him back if he grows up, which is what they are hoping happens over the next year. If he goes to classes and grows up he will be back at OSU. The one year suspension is tough. He can transfer to a 1-AA school (Grambling) but he can't play until 2004 (just like at OSU), he can goto the CFL or he can sue the NFL (or he can wait at OSU).
Except they're letting him stay enrolled at the school with a full scholarship. That doesn't make any sense...
They're encouraging to continue his education. Sure you could revoke his scholarship but the bottom line is he hasn't done anything more than a misdemeanor (falsifing a police report) if he was a regular student, so I'm not sure if that would be enough to revoke his academic scholarship if he was on one of those (charged with a misdemeanor). They are giving him the opportunity to grow up over the next year.
I'm sure it's purely altruistic. I'm sure the fact that Clarett's lawyers/advisors would file a lawsuit faster than the speed of light if the scholarship was revoked has never entered the thought process of those in charge.
You forget one thing. He allegedly received money from boosters last season. And what does NCAA by-law say about punishment towards OSU in this case?
Not a booster, that has not been reported (not saying it's not true, just to this point it seems like he took money from LeBron and possibly also Jim Brown, neither who are any way affiliated with OSU). If it's a booster then it could be trouble for OSU, but in the NCAA's report in July they said it was not an instituition problem but an isolated incident. So again I'm not saying it's not true, but to this point payments are from non-boosters. In the press relaease today they said 2 cases of breaking amateurism. One is obviously the car situation. The other is probably the payments from Lebron who is his friend, but the payment still looks questionable.
Clarett should have been smarter. Ohio State should have been smarter. Can't wait to see if he goes to division 2 for a year then back to d1 the next year at a different college.
If he does I-AA it won't be until the 2004 season. After that season I'm pretty sure he'll be opting for the NFL. So not much chance you'll see him playing D1 ball anywhere but OSU. If he transfers to a D1 school he has to sit for a full-year, then serve the uspension (assuming the NCAA won't reduce it). That measn to goto a D1 program he'll be sitting for 2 full years.
But the season suspension will be (The NCAA could in theory reduce it, but not sure that has ever been done before)
But it's approved by the NCAA, meaning he has to be cleared by the NCAA before he can play again (wheter it's at OSU or any other NCAA college). Basically after this season OSU may/will petition the NCAA and say Maurice is in good standing and we would like him to play again. THen the NCAA decides if he is ok. So he could transfer to Grambling and Grambling could petition the NCAA to let him play earlier, but I don't think it would set a good precedent by saying if you screw up you can go somewhere else and play sooner.
