Author Topic: Should he or shouldn't he? (Read 704 times)

gofaster · « **on:** September 23, 2003, 12:14:45 PM »

Should the NFL change its policies just for one player? Just how firm are the NFL's scruples regarding minimum age requirements? If they let him in, what would that do to college football, and college athletics overall (particularly those sports such as swimming and track that rely on football revenues to cover the expenses of their operations)?

In my opinion, this guy is just a spoiled brat with a talent that he's trying to leverage to get his way, without concern for the consequences it will have on other athletes and other sports. I also think his lawsuit is without merit, since he fails to prove how the NFL's minimum 3-year rule is a violation of an anti-trust act. Clarett can enter the job market just like any other man with a high-school diploma. Or he can play in the Arena Football League. Or get into some other sport-related job. I think if the NFL is forced to take him into their system, its going to be trouble for the coaches that run whatever team he's on.

=====From Yahoo News=======

Clarett Sues NFL Over Draft Eligibility
1 hour, 4 minutes ago

By ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - Suspended Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett sued the NFL on Tuesday, asking a judge to throw out a league rule preventing players from entering the draft until they have been out of high school for three years.

Clarett, who rushed for 1,237 yards and led Ohio State to a national championship as a freshman last season, is not eligible for the draft until 2005 under current rules.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, claims the NFL rule violates antitrust law and harms competition by excluding players who are shy of the three-year requirement.

"The rule is a restraint of amateur athletes who were strangers to the collective bargaining process," the suit says.

The rule is separate from the NFL's current collective bargaining agreement with its players' union.

A message left for NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wasn't immediately returned Tuesday.

When NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was asked earlier this month if he thought the league could win such a lawsuit, he replied: "My feeling as commissioner is that we have a very strong case and that we'll win it."

Clarett was suspended from the Ohio State team for at least a year after an investigation determined he broke NCAA bylaws concerning benefits for athletes and lying to investigators. Sounds like the guy was already trying to cash in on his fame and got caught, then lied about whatever it was he'd done.

He claims it was "almost certain" he would have been taken in the first round of the 2003 draft had he been eligible, and would have made millions of dollars in a contract and signing bonus.

Clarett's attorney, Alan C. Milstein, filed the suit a day after he met with NFL executives in Washington to discuss whether Clarett would be eligible for the 2004 draft.

Aiello characterized it as "an exchange of views" and said the league would get back to them. He id not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.

The lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin to throw out the rule and declare Clarett eligible for the 2004 draft — or require the NFL to hold a special supplemental draft sooner.

Frogm4n · « **Reply #1 on:** September 23, 2003, 12:15:31 PM »

No they should not change their standards. I do not care what the case is.

Sandman · « **Reply #2 on:** September 23, 2003, 12:17:09 PM »

The problem isn't the NFL. It's the NCAA.

gofaster · « **Reply #3 on:** September 23, 2003, 12:20:15 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
The problem isn't the NFL. It's the NCAA.

That's a good point. I bet he's suing the NFL because he doesn't have a case against the NCAA, or has decided that it isn't worth the trouble to play college ball. He's probably figuring that there's nothing to be gained by playing college ball, since, in his own words, he's already good enough to be a first-round draft pick professionally.

I don't know, but did he lose his football scholarship at OSU? That might be what's driving him to get into the NFL. He has no job and can't afford school.

midnight Target · « **Reply #4 on:** September 23, 2003, 12:27:11 PM »

I think the NFL will lose this one. The NBA already has. Too bad too. It has hurt the college game.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #5 on:** September 23, 2003, 12:34:34 PM »

We've known for years that College was just a vehicle to get to the pro's, just take a look at some of the majors these players have.

ra · « **Reply #6 on:** September 23, 2003, 12:44:09 PM »

Whatever the legalities are, every year he stays out of the pros costs him millions of dollars. If any pro teams want him, there should be a way they can get him. What does he owe the NCAA?

ra

FUNKED1 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2003, 02:27:21 PM »

Big-time college sports are just legalized slavery. It's a racket. I hope the kid wins.

gofaster · « **Reply #8 on:** September 23, 2003, 03:07:58 PM »

Its funny that he doesn't mention the Canadian Football League. He could go there, play for a few years like Doug Flutie and Herschel Walker, then come to the NFL.

Gadfly · « **Reply #9 on:** September 23, 2003, 03:39:40 PM »

Jeez, please enslave me for 5 years and give me 10 million bucks. Poor babies.

Fatty · « **Reply #10 on:** September 23, 2003, 08:28:24 PM »

Go easy on Funked Gadfly. Given the average age of the Raiders' players is 63.6 years old you could understand the enthusiam to draft young players.

gofaster · « **Reply #11 on:** September 24, 2003, 07:52:40 AM »

They were talking about this a bit more this morning on the radio. Apparently Clarett's activities have caused the NCAA to investigate OSU for violations relating to misrepresenting scholastic achievements, such as saying he was attending classes he didn't go to.

What was the name of that NFL player who publicly admitted that he was functionally illiterate, yet he managed to graduate from Oklahoma State?

Fatty · « **Reply #12 on:** September 24, 2003, 07:54:46 AM »

Dexter Manly

gofaster · « **Reply #13 on:** September 24, 2003, 08:08:23 AM »

Ah, thanks! I remember he had some drug suspensions levied on him by the NFL.

"Upon further review...." I discovered that it was Arizona State University that graduated Dexter, not Oklahoma State. Sorry!

LoneStarBuckeye · « **Reply #14 on:** September 24, 2003, 08:20:29 AM »

As a long-time Buckeye fan, I say good riddance to MC. Even though our running game sorely misses his estimable talent, he has been a punk from the time of his first success last year and has been bad for the university.

For his sake, I hope he matures very quickly and does himself a huge favor by shedding Jim Brown. Brown has done nothing but get himself on television and continually give MC critically bad advice. He has become the Jessie J. of college athletics.

MC certainly has the talent to play on the next level (durability may be another matter), and I hope he rights the ship and achieves his potential. It doesn't look promising, though.