Maurice Clarett Breaks His Silence


I have more sympathy for this young man. I don't think all the blame should be placed on his shoulder. OSU should share some the blame. When they recruited this young man, they should have sold him on the university and the athletic program. "We have a wonderful training facility", you will get to play in front of 90,000+ at our home games", "you can get a job, but you will earn your paycheck", you can get a degree in basket weaving (and you will go to class and earn it), and that's o.k. because you will never need your degree, because you will make millions at the next level".

But I guess the above way (which is the right way) is too easy for some of us in this world.

So far as the NCAA being lenient on OSU, that's fine and dandy, but you reap what you sow. What goes around, comes around. This is fact!!!!!
 
GR told this board a long time of ago that Clarett was a piece of garbage. GR believes he had a long conversation with JR about Clarett being a spoiled brat believing he was intitled. It takes a pure coward to do what he is doing to OSU right now.
 

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If Maurice Clarett had a negative reputation, OSU should not have gone after him; therefore, we would not be having this conversation today. He sure did help them win a national championship in 2002. Like the old saying, "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" (for some).
 
Get Ready said:
GR told this board a long time of ago that Clarett was a piece of garbage. GR believes he had a long conversation with JR about Clarett being a spoiled brat believing he was intitled. It takes a pure coward to do what he is doing to OSU right now.
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Co-sign.
You shole was right GR. You tried to told me. I tried to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. :smh:
 
Say what you want..........Ohio State is an accessory to the crimes. And if MC is a coward certainly Ohio State share the title. The NCAA also has a dog in the coward hunt too since the antiquated rules precipitate this type of behavior. A lot of you all remind me of law enforcement going after the drug street runners as opposed to the suppliers. MC is only a sympton of a larger problem. Anti Trust laws have been violated and the real "balls" lie within college administrators taking the initiative to implement a class action suit to end the BCS monopoly and awards of financial reciprocity from said defendents to the plaintiffs. The NCAA also should be sued for damages or a court appointed abitrator brought in to settle exploitation from this organization and legislation reform.
 
JROCK said:
Say what you want..........Ohio State is an accessory to the crimes. And if MC is a coward certainly Ohio State share the title. The NCAA also has a dog in the coward hunt too since the antiquated rules precipitate this type of behavior. A lot of you all remind me of law enforcement going after the drug street runners as opposed to the suppliers. MC is only a sympton of a larger problem. Anti Trust laws have been violated and the real "balls" lie within college administrators taking the initiative to implement a class action suit to end the BCS monopoly and awards of financial reciprocity from said defendents to the plaintiffs. The NCAA also should be sued or an abitrator brought in to settle exploitation from this organization an legislation reform.
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I usually don't co-sign.......but you are so right JRock!!!

I went and checked out OSU schedule and they are 6-3 and not even ranked in the top 25. I see a win against Purdue Saturday and a loss to Michigan next week. Can we say 7-4 for the year? "Ole winning is the only thing - OSU". :winkgrin:
 
Getting back to the subject at hand, OSU and no other big time university should have signed Maurice Clarett if he was "trouble" from start. This young man should have gone to a university where they don't have the big time boosters that can (and sometime will) corrupt an athlete.

I guess he got caught up with all the money, cars, and attention he was receiving. He was told "yes" to everything before, but when he asked to attend his friend's funeral and they said "no", I guess it was a shock to him (because he was never told "no" since day one when he arrived on OSU campus.) and he could not accept this. This is when the relationship went South I might add.

In the end nobody wins. I feel for this young man (and others like him) that don't have the guidance from home (and this is where it starts) to suceed in the real world.
 
In summary, "if you dance to their music....................sooner or later, you're going to have to pay the piper",

"when one takes those illegal inducements under the table (or out in the open) and when that snit comes to light.......it is the athlete who winds up taking the fall for everything. He will be the one out in the cold with a ruined reputation or the one who is banned from the competitive sports arena in some form or another. The coach (even if he is diciplined or dimissed will usually be back in coaching within a year somewhere"

"when it comes down to them or us........then it's going to be us that ends up with the short part of the stick",

"that PWC Coach does not love that player, he likes what that player can do for him or his program, he also likes the fact that a player will help him obtain a Nat'l Championship, which leads to a more lucrative contract and other incentives and possibly a shot a coaching in the pro's."

I believe the vast majority of Coaches want a player who is confident, cocky and coachable who can get his lessons and stay eligible...............most of them are not interested in some pantywaist momma's boy who wants everything to go his way and who is willing to take the team down if it appears that it will work to his benefit. The more he(Clarett) talks the further his stock drops as far as the pro's are concerned. I don't think that there are too many teams who are willing to take a chance on him.

IF I am going to eat the steaks that are provided , wear the clothes and shoes that they give me, take the money for the ficticious jobs or for the tickets to the game that Ican sell at a highly inflated price or if I am going to drive the vehicle that is provided then what right do I have to complain about what was done "illegally"?

Just one man's opinion.
 
STRAWDOG said:
IF I am going to eat the steaks that are provided , wear the clothes and shoes that they give me, take the money for the ficticious jobs or for the tickets to the game that Ican sell at a highly inflated price or if I am going to drive the vehicle that is provided then what right do I have to complain about what was done "illegally"?

Just one man's opinion.
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When did he complain though? I havent read the article nor have I heard the interview but from my understanding, the tone of it isnt about complaining. He's merely stating what happened. I would be more inclined to take the "he needs to shut his fuggin mouth" argument if he hadnt tried that approach before and got the short end of the stick from OSU. Do yall realize the 17 violations that the NCAA came down on him about were not because he said he did the things, but because he said "I dont know" 17 times and in the eyes of the NCAA, not being forthright is a violation. It's funny he did that because he wanted to "have OSU's back" but then they go and paint this picture of him being a bad kid regardless if he is or not. Dayumm all of that, I'd blast their azzes also.
 
The problem is he "RATTED" out OSU. We all know there are some deep secrets in all levels of football starting with high school. MC has simply made it hard on himself for any NFL Team or players to trust his punk azz.
 
JROCK said:
Say what you want..........Ohio State is an accessory to the crimes. And if MC is a coward certainly Ohio State share the title. The NCAA also has a dog in the coward hunt too since the antiquated rules precipitate this type of behavior. A lot of you all remind me of law enforcement going after the drug street runners as opposed to the suppliers. MC is only a sympton of a larger problem. Anti Trust laws have been violated and the real "balls" lie within college administrators taking the initiative to implement a class action suit to end the BCS monopoly and awards of financial reciprocity from said defendents to the plaintiffs. The NCAA also should be sued for damages or a court appointed abitrator brought in to settle exploitation from this organization and legislation reform.
Click to expand...
jrock

You put this very eloquently, but the fact remains that he wasnt high and mighty when the boosters were forking over all that money to him. Now that his supply has been cut off, he is doing everything he can to tear down the school that did its best to help him out. Unless he tells us about all the times he turned that money down, the he is a bonafide no good ruthless coward.

If he goes to the next level (and GR is sure most teams will be very reluctant to draft him because of his baggage) his team mates and others will be very untrusting of him. This is a guy you cant trust as far as you can throw him. GR saw it from the start. It simply boils down to he is the spoilest of the spoil brats. Everytime he couldnt get his way, to the media he ran.

This punk is the Ricky Williams of his level. If he makes it to the next level where the stakes will be higher and we are talking about livelihoods and not scholarships, he is liable to catch a few shots at his knees and a few pops in the mouth. Whoever drafts this loser is in for the same mess he has been keeping up for the past 3 years.

If you think Terrell keeps up a lot of mess, you aint seen nothing yet.
 
Well it looks like it's starting to snowball for OSU.

Souls of the departed haunt Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Columbus, Ohio, is aflame now with the confessions and allegations of a former college player who was living like a pro before he ever turned pro, in the midst of a selectively aware head coach who rode the running back's talents to a national championship. Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel were a compelling duo at Ohio State.

But the roots of the alleged scandal -- and the relationship between player and coach -- can be found far from campus, three hours away by car in the northeast corner of a politically and athletically red state. They lie in the toxic soil along the Mahoning River, a gentle, serpentine body of water that once gave life to a working-class vision of the American Dream.
The relationship between Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett dates back to their days in Youngstown.
For much of the past century, the smallish city of Youngstown was, remarkably, one of the steel capitals of the nation. Its mills and ethnic immigrants produced the raw material for cars, bombs, skyscrapers -- just about any object that enabled the rise of the United States as a world power. Jobs were plentiful, paychecks were fat, and crime was someone else's problem, save for the occasional mob-inspired car bombing that no one seemed to witness.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867

Booster money train at OSU
Former Ohio State running back Robert Smith believes Maurice Clarett is telling the truth about receiving cash from boosters and other powerful fans of the Buckeye football team, but stopped short of indicting the university's coaches or staff for providing benefits deemed improper by the NCAA.

"Absolutely I think that (Clarett getting paid by boosters) happened," he said. "I believe that it's happened. But there's a difference between fans providing it or members of the university. There's a huge distinction. I don't believe members of the university provided for him

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867
 
JaguarNation99 said:
Well it looks like it's starting to snowball for OSU.

Souls of the departed haunt Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Columbus, Ohio, is aflame now with the confessions and allegations of a former college player who was living like a pro before he ever turned pro, in the midst of a selectively aware head coach who rode the running back's talents to a national championship. Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel were a compelling duo at Ohio State.

But the roots of the alleged scandal -- and the relationship between player and coach -- can be found far from campus, three hours away by car in the northeast corner of a politically and athletically red state. They lie in the toxic soil along the Mahoning River, a gentle, serpentine body of water that once gave life to a working-class vision of the American Dream.
The relationship between Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett dates back to their days in Youngstown.
For much of the past century, the smallish city of Youngstown was, remarkably, one of the steel capitals of the nation. Its mills and ethnic immigrants produced the raw material for cars, bombs, skyscrapers -- just about any object that enabled the rise of the United States as a world power. Jobs were plentiful, paychecks were fat, and crime was someone else's problem, save for the occasional mob-inspired car bombing that no one seemed to witness.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867

Booster money train at OSU
Former Ohio State running back Robert Smith believes Maurice Clarett is telling the truth about receiving cash from boosters and other powerful fans of the Buckeye football team, but stopped short of indicting the university's coaches or staff for providing benefits deemed improper by the NCAA.

"Absolutely I think that (Clarett getting paid by boosters) happened," he said. "I believe that it's happened. But there's a difference between fans providing it or members of the university. There's a huge distinction. I don't believe members of the university provided for him

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867
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Life isn't fair!!!! Oh well.
 
JaguarNation99 said:
Well it looks like it's starting to snowball for OSU.

Souls of the departed haunt Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Columbus, Ohio, is aflame now with the confessions and allegations of a former college player who was living like a pro before he ever turned pro, in the midst of a selectively aware head coach who rode the running back's talents to a national championship. Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel were a compelling duo at Ohio State.

But the roots of the alleged scandal -- and the relationship between player and coach -- can be found far from campus, three hours away by car in the northeast corner of a politically and athletically red state. They lie in the toxic soil along the Mahoning River, a gentle, serpentine body of water that once gave life to a working-class vision of the American Dream.
The relationship between Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett dates back to their days in Youngstown.
For much of the past century, the smallish city of Youngstown was, remarkably, one of the steel capitals of the nation. Its mills and ethnic immigrants produced the raw material for cars, bombs, skyscrapers -- just about any object that enabled the rise of the United States as a world power. Jobs were plentiful, paychecks were fat, and crime was someone else's problem, save for the occasional mob-inspired car bombing that no one seemed to witness.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867

Booster money train at OSU
Former Ohio State running back Robert Smith believes Maurice Clarett is telling the truth about receiving cash from boosters and other powerful fans of the Buckeye football team, but stopped short of indicting the university's coaches or staff for providing benefits deemed improper by the NCAA.

"Absolutely I think that (Clarett getting paid by boosters) happened," he said. "I believe that it's happened. But there's a difference between fans providing it or members of the university. There's a huge distinction. I don't believe members of the university provided for him

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867
Click to expand...



I think Robert Smith summed it up best with his statements. No doubt in my mind Clarett got some stuff and money from boosters. Probably alot more after the National Championship. But like Smith said. He doubts it came from the University. Youngstown,Ohio is an old former factory town. It is run down and has alot of poor folks until you get to Boardman, Ohio where the Debartolo's(49ers) are from. So I know there are kids there looking for a way out. Still no excuse to do what Maurice did. There are alot of poor black kids in the country who are playing big time ball and are taking care of their business. It aint OSU's fault that Clarett did not take advantage of his position and just take his arse to class and just play ball. Robert Smith and others certainly did. Hell Smith even quit OSU football for a year when an assistan coach told him to miss a test/class to practice. That coach got fired and Smith returned the next year. I am sure OSU will get what's coming to them just like all the other schools have. :slap:
 

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I feel sorry for the young man because in the end he could have "made it big" but thanks in part to OSU and those boosters this won't happen.

If Maurice was your son, nephew, cousin would you make the same comments?

In the end, OSU and those boosters will be fine (and they will continue to give these athletes' money, cars, etc.); however, this young man's life will never be the same.

I am glad the administration at NSU has integrity, morals, etc. Over the summer, when a person in registration discovered that some football players took courses that they were not entitled to take, she went to the administration and in the end they fired the head coach and the coach that was responsible for letting these young men take these courses. This took place two weeks before the season started. I can truly admire and look up to an institution like that. They don't have the big time boosters to give the student-athlete cars, money, etc. but you can get an education.

In the end, college is designed to prepare young men and young women for the outside world (get a decent job, earn a decent salary, build that two-story home, ride in an Escalade, etc.).
 
IWJNSU said:
I feel sorry for the young man because in the end he could have "made it big" but thanks in part to OSU and those boosters this won't happen.

If Maurice was your son, nephew, cousin would you make the same comments?

In the end, OSU and those boosters will be fine (and they will continue to give these athletes' money, cars, etc.); however, this young man's life will never be the same.

I am glad the administration at NSU has integrity, morals, etc. Over the summer, when a person in registration discovered that some football players took courses that they were not entitled to take, she went to the administration and in the end they fired the head coach and the coach that was responsible for letting these young men take these courses. This took place two weeks before the season started. I can truly admire and look up to an institution like that. They don't have the big time boosters to give the student-athlete cars, money, etc. but you can get an education.

In the end, college is designed to prepare young men and young women for the outside world (get a decent job, earn a decent salary, build that two-story home, ride in an Escalade, etc.).
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If Maurice was my son he would have been schooled like the Robert Smith's, Eddie George's, Joey Galloway's and other black star student athletes that went to OSU and got their degrees. I would have monitered what he was getting from the boosters. Look how Larry Fitzgerald's Daddy handled him. Like someone posted, Clarett's Mom should have been involved more. The bad thing is she aint even ghetto like LeBron James Mom is.

SU didn't make me go to class nor some of my friends that decided not too. Pete don't make those boys go to class. He/SU provides them with a means to get any academic help they need and it is up to them to go to school. So it is not up to Tressel to make them act right go to school. You can only provide the means which OSU did. Again Clarett did not take advantage of the tutors, advisors and such. See, for every Maurice Clarett you have a Charlie Ward type kid who excelled academically at Florida St. But then you have an Adrian McPherson who wants the easy way out. Then these guys want to snitch after they screw up.

My question is that these players are men. Yes I said men. Young men that need some guidance. But they are supposed to be more discipline than the average student since they play ball. The 17 and 18 year olds aint making no excuses in the military as they fight in Iraq are they? So what makes Clarett so special and different. Because he plays ball? He needed to grow up just like the kids serving our country that are his age. He was blessed with football talent that a school was willing to pay for his education. It is up to him to take care of the rest. He blew it and it is not OSU's fault. Heck they even tried to defend him in the beginning when he lied about the stuff being stolen in the car.

No coach wants to see his players flunk out or get into trouble. Why? Because they need them on the field so they can win games and keep their jobs. So don't think for moment if Clarett wanted academic help and wanted to get his degree that Tressel and OSU wouldn't help him. It is a win-win situation. That is the best of both worlds. BTW, Clarett was no dumb kid either. From all accounts he was a pretty good student in HS. He just wanted to be like his boy LeBron and live large before it was time. He couldn't wait until he completed his Jr year. Too bad he didn't be like LeBron and act like he had some sense.
 
I agree that OSU provided plenty of means for Clarett or any athlete to take care of business academically, I don't at all feel sorry for him. He was presented any easy way out and he took it. A concerned coach would see that his players are doing what they're supposed to do academically, but he's no obligation to do so. OSU perhaps had a role in it, but it's still up to Clarett as an individual to make the right decisions. His family has a large role in this as well, no one stepped to make sure he doing what he needed to in school. Even now, I can't get a phone call from my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc, in which they won't ask how's school, how's your research, how's your dissertation coming, etc. The people around him were mainly interested in getting paid, plain and simple. As for OSU, even if the school wasn't involved directly in any player getting money, the NCAA will still hit it with its favorite phrase, "lack of institutional control".
 
JR said:
If Maurice was my son he would have been schooled like the Robert Smith's, Eddie George's, Joey Galloway's and other black star student athletes that went to OSU and got their degrees. I would have monitered what he was getting from the boosters.
This is wonderful news. Glad to hear this!!!

Pete don't make those boys go to class.
I bet he has the same rules and regulations that must be followed by everyone on the football team.

Another thing, SU is not OSU. At SU, the majority of the football players know that they will not play at the next level; therefore, the majority will attend class, work hard in practice to play each Saturday because after four years their football careers' will end. They play for the love of the game.
OSU is a "football factory". Some of these guys' expect to play at the next level.

So it is not up to Tressel to make them act right go to school.
I bet they can't miss football practice without a good excuse!!!
At first telling the young man "yes" he can attend the funeral of his best friend and then to say "no" seems to me he had some type of "power" over that situation but not to attend class. O.K.

Again Clarett did not take advantage of the tutors, advisors and such.
They switched his advisors and teachers to the ones that were "friendly" toward athletes. Seems like he did not have to take advantage. Advantages were thrown in his lap.

My question is that these players are men. Yes I said men.
Some are mature at 17 and 18 and some are not. Just like we have some men who are "fathers" and some that are just "wearing" the title.

So what makes Clarett so special and different. Because he plays ball?
He became "special and different" the day certain people started treating him "special and different". His rules were different from the average football player's rules. Anything and everything he wanted, all he had to do was say the word(s).

In all honesty, I hate to hear what happened at OSU but when you have OSU, and OSU Boosters "giving and showing favortism" to an individual, in this case Maurice Clarett, nothing good usually happens. Yes, he should have kept quiet and took the fall; however, this is not the case. He is not going down by himself. And since the cat is out the bag, I feel all parties involved should suffer the consequences. Who knows, OSU and the OSU Boosters might come out of this smelling like a rose and Maurice Clarett might be the one scared for life. But I hope everyone involved learned a valuable lesson.
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Get Ready said:
GR told this board a long time of ago that Clarett was a piece of garbage. GR believes he had a long conversation with JR about Clarett being a spoiled brat believing he was intitled. It takes a pure coward to do what he is doing to OSU right now.
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GR...................
On This Clarett guy and OSU you are correct!!! He (Clarett acts like some bratty arsed child who (if he dosen't get his way) will want to bring everybody else down and destroy as much as possible. I don't think anybody put a gun to his head and made him take all these illegal hand-outs. He knew fully what he was getting himself into.
 
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