Maurice Clarett - Your opinion of his situation?

[Lefty48197]

Without commenting on him as a person, or on Ohio State University, I would like to hear other people's opinions about Mauruce Clarett's situation. In case you don't know, Maurice Clarett decided he wanted to play professional football after he completed his freshman year of college. He applied for the NFL draft, but was denied by the NFL because of their rule that prohibits drafting a player who has been out of High School for less than three years. Because, Maurice applied for the NFL draft, the college rules then made him ineligible to play college football, and he was forced to sit out this entire football season.

Where does the NFL get the authority to do this?

Plenty of kids move into professional sports at age 18. Hockey players, baseball players, basketball players have all routinely signed professional sports contracts at age 18. I remember Eric Lindros' mother signing a (hockey) contract for him when he was about 16 years old.

How can the NFL tell people they have to wait until they're age 20 or 21 before they can sign a contract?

To me, it sounds like collusion, and it sounds like Maurice Clarett has been denied a fundamental human right: The right to make a living performing with your God-given talents.

Maurice was one of the most talented college running backs in the country (if not the MOST talented) last spring during the NFL draft.
If he had been allowed to enter the draft, he would probably have been drafted in the top 10. He would have gotten a contract worth "X" dollars per year, and he would have gotten a signing bonus worth "Y" dollars.
He didn't get that money because all of the NFL clubs conspired through their cartel. I can't help but believe that WHEN Maurice's case is eventually settled, that the NFL is going to be paying him a good portion of that salary and bonus that he was denied.
I hope they have to pay punitive damages too.

[YDogg]

1. I remember speculation ...

... that he was a third round prospect at best, and it seems now teams aren't going to be willing to take a shot on a guy who doesn't play for an extended period. I followed him while was at OSU, and I think he could do well, but his image needs work. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the draft rules in the NFL from a legal standpoint, but I can envision a 30 year old linebacker knocking the hell out of a 19 year old.

[Lefty48197]

4. I think YOU'RE right about THAT

I guess I do remember hearing that his stock had dropped. I'm guessing that he still would have signed for at least 1/2 or 1/3 million per year. Where he goes in the draft this year will help show where he might have gone last year.
I heard the argument several times before that an 18 or 19 year old is just too small to play in the NFL. I read some scouting reports about Maurice, and they seemed to refer to him as 'big' and 'strong'. I don't know if it was all hype or what, but it seemed different sources said the same thing. I don't know how much bigger he'll get over the course of this year anyways.
The real difference between football and the other three major team sports is that there is no minor leagues for football. Maurice is kind of paying the penalty for that.

[hughee99]

2. Age requirements aren't unique to football.

I know that baseball has a minimum age (I think it's 16) that a player can sign a contract at. In Europe, there is a minimum age for football (soccer) players if they are not from an EU country. I think this is why Freddie Adoo is playing in the US right now. I believe this has something to do with child labor laws or exploiting children. Women's tennis also has a minimum age for athletes, which was enacted after Jennifer Capriatti had issues with dealing with all the pressure and publicity at such a young age.

I believe that the NFL does have the right to set a minimum age for players, although I think the reason that this was done at "3 years out of high school" was because of a deal with the NCAA. I think the NFL would love to be able to draft younger, but the NCAA (which is their largest talent pool by far) was able to exert some pressure on the NFL. The NCAA has a vested interest in keeping their stars for as long as possible.

I'm not sure if Clarett lost his eligiblity when he regestered for the draft, or when he actually signed an agent. I know that in other sports, a player can register for the draft, and retain their NCAA status up until they sign a contract or sign with an agent. At any time up until then, I believe they can return to college without any issues.

In the end, you're right. Clarett will play for an NFL team, sign a big contract, and probably even get a settlement from his lawsuit.

[Lefty48197]

3. I think you're right about that.

I think it was the signing with an agent that actually cost him his college eligibility.
The one question I really want to address is the fact that somebody who is over 18 years old is being denied the right to work at his chosen profession, because of a decision made by a business syndicate.
There aren't very many instances in this country where somebody who is 18 is denied the right to perform certain jobs. The restrictions for Congress, President, and Vice President are written into the Constitution.
I mentioned baseball, basketball, and hockey. There are several examples of 18 year olds playing professionally in each of those sports. Some even play in the major leagues. I just don't know how NFL football can justify doing differently, and that's why I think they've left themselves wide-open to a lawsuit.

[DelawareValleyDem]

5. There was a lawsuit

I was following it up until the time of the draft. Clarett won at the District level but the decision/order was reversed/vacated on appeal and remanded to the lower court. I haven't heard anything since, although I think the Supreme Court rejected a request from Clarett's side to hear the case on an expidited basis (before the draft occurred)

I think the courts ruling was that the players union has the sole authority to negotiate working conditions for the players, present or future, therefore the age rule is exempt from a legal challenge that it is violation of anti-trust laws, but I'm probably missing and/or not understanding a number of details. Here is the Court of Appeals ruling if you are interested

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/040943p.pdf

[slestak]

6. Mike Williams

What you're forgetting is that Clarett made his own bed by getting booted off the team. That's why he tried to enter the NFL. He could have transferred to a Division 1-A school and sat out a year, or transferred to a 1-AA school (like nearby Youngstown) and played immediately while the situation was resolved.

Your statements are more applicable to Mike Williams, who signed with an agent when it looked like the Clarett suit against the NFL over the age provision was going to win. When it didn't, he ditched his agent and tried to get back on at USC. NCAA said no way.

I had to check the date on your post to make sure it wasn't ancient, before I finished my post.

There is no way Clarett was a top 10 pick in the 2004 draft. He hadn't played a single down in over a year. He showed up at the draft combine but didn't suit up and take the field. Many reported he was not in great shape and would be lucky to get drafted on Day 1.

He probably would have been a first-rounder in the 2003 draft had he been eligible. But before you break out the violins, you need to get your facts in order and realize that Clarett was handed an opportunity that a lot of kids don't get, and he blew it. Mike Williams is more of a victim than Clarett.

[goodbody]

7. Agreed about Mike Williams

being more of a victim than Clarett. The NCAA handled the situation with Mike Williams very poorly: they took their time in reviewing his eligibility and then waited until the very last minute to announce they were going to deny his eligibility. It was clear they had already made their decision to exclude Mike early on, so they should have been more up-front about it. I know that Mike Williams was very close to making up the classes he missed in summer school sessions, so they could have taken that into consideration. It was very poorly handled.

[rinsd]

8. Williams got hosed by the NCAA...

Clarett was a scumbag looking to get paid after he got booted from school. Poor Mike listened to the wrong people and the NCAA wasn't real clear about how they were going to act.

[Lefty48197]

9. Maurice Clarett was denied the opportunity to play professional football

He's over 18 years of age, and nobody has the right to tell him that he can't compete, unless he doesn't have the talent. I don't think his talent is in questions.