The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds (Merged)

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #24. Where's Maurice? And (yes) another chance for ESPN to regurgitate information about Tom Friend's interview with Maurice.



01/02/05
Report: Man not sure it was Clarett who robbed him - ESPN •FB

Updated: Jan. 2, 2006, 7:55 PM ET
Report: Man not sure it was Clarett who robbed him

ESPN.com news services

As police continued to search for Maurice Clarett, a man who told police he was robbed in an alley behind a bar early Sunday says he doesn't know if it was the former Denver Broncos running back dressed in black who told him to empty his pockets.

Lucas Nyarko, 28, told The Columbus Dispatch that he hopes it was just someone who looked like the 22-year-old, who helped Ohio State win college football's national championship in 2002.

Nyarko told police he couldn't identify Clarett as the man who robbed him and his friend, The Dispatch reported.

But police continued searching for Clarett, who was accused of using a gun to rob Nyarko and a friend shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday. Nyarko said his friend identified Clarett after police showed her photographs, and police said the bar owner, who came outside during the robbery, knew Clarett.

Detectives are following up on tips on possible locations, said Sgt. Michael Woods, a police spokesman.

"But right now, none of those have proved of value," Woods said.

According to police, Clarett left in a white sport utility vehicle with two other men and took only a cell phone from his alleged victims, who were not injured. He was wanted on two counts of aggravated robbery.

Nyarko said he and his friend were approached by a man dressed in black, who told them he needed something. Nyarko said the man pulled up his shirt and showed them a gun tucked in his pants. The man moved the gun to the front of his waistband and told them to empty their pockets.

Nyarko said after he handed the man his cell phone, a woman came out of the bar and yelled, "Maurice!" in greeting to the man, who hugged her. He then carried the woman, who police said was bar owner Tashona Corvi, toward the SUV, put her down and got in the vehicle.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said he was "shocked" when he heard about the incident.

"Shocked. Hoping it's not true, and if it is, he'll have to deal with the consequences, which seem like they'll be very steep," Shanahan said Monday.

Hampered by a groin injury, Clarett didn't get much chance to perform in training camp and was released in Denver's first round of cuts. He never got another tryout.

Before Sunday's incident, Clarett was negotiating a deal and was likely going to sign with an NFL team on Monday, Josh Luchs, one of Clarett's agents, told ESPN The Magazine's Tom Friend. Clarett was expected to be allocated to NFL Europe if he signed, Friend reported, but his future now appears uncertain.

Clarett's cousin, Vince Marrow, told the Dispatch he spoke to Clarett's mother Sunday.

"She is shocked. She was getting ready to go to church and I told her there was an arrest warrant for Maurice. She was like, 'What?' " he said.

A message was left Sunday at Michelle Clarett's home in Youngstown.

Broncos safety Nick Ferguson said Clarett fit in OK with the team, mainly because it was hard not to, given the group of players in the Denver locker room.

"I found out the news this morning and it was shocking," Ferguson said. "I don't really know what's going on in his life. There's always a lot going on that we don't know about."

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said he was informed of the incident on his way to Sunday's Fiesta Bowl news conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"Obviously, my reaction to that is it's sad," Tressel said, "because, as I said the last few times people have brought up the subject, my hope would be that he would have an opportunity to go over to NFL Europe and make a comeback.

"I hope it's not true, but beyond that, I don't know much, but my reaction is, I was sad."

Clarett rushed for 1,237 yards and scored 16 touchdowns as a freshman. He sat out the 2003 season after he was charged with misdemeanor falsification for filing a police report claiming that more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment was stolen from a car he borrowed from a local dealership. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Ohio State suspended Clarett for misleading investigators, and for receiving special benefits worth thousands of dollars from a family friend.

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine in November 2004, Clarett said coaches and boosters arranged for him to get passing grades, cars and thousands of dollars while at Ohio State. None of the allegations were verified and Clarett never responded to NCAA requests to be interviewed about them as part of its investigation into Ohio State's athletic program.

Clarett also unsuccessfully challenged the NFL's requirement that players wait three years after high school before turning pro in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #25. Don't run Maurice. There's a good chance your bailbondsman runs a faster 40 than you.



01/03/05
Clarett released on $50K bond - ESPN •FB

Updated: Jan. 3, 2006, 1:08 PM ET
Clarett released on $50K bond

ESPN.com news services

Maurice Clarett appeared but did not speak in a two-minute Franklin County Municipal Court proceeding Tuesday. Judge Amy Salerno freed the 22-year-old Clarett on $50,000 bond. The case will now be turned over to the grand jury, according to Clarett's attorney, William Settina.

Clarett turned himself in Monday night on charges of robbing two people at gunpoint in an alley behind a bar.

Clarett was wanted on two counts of aggravated robbery since early Sunday, when police said he flashed a gun and demanded property from a man and a woman behind the Opium Lounge in downtown Columbus.

Police said he fled with two men in a sport utility vehicle after he was identified by the bar owner, who happened to come out into the alley. No one was injured.

The 22-year-old former Buckeyes star, who helped the team win the national championship in 2002, turned himself in around 9 p.m. Monday at the county jail, Columbus Detective Art Hughes said.

Around the same time Monday, fourth-ranked Ohio State was finishing a 34-20 win over No. 5 Notre Dame at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

Myke Clarett, Clarett's father, declined comment when reached at his home Monday night. A recorded message on the voicemail box for his mother, Michelle Clarett, indicated that it was full.

Before the incident, Clarett was negotiating a deal with an NFL team, Josh Luchs, one of Clarett's agents, told ESPN The Magazine's Tom Friend. Clarett was expected to be allocated to NFL Europe if he signed, Friend reported.

Clarett sat out the 2003 season when he was charged with misdemeanor falsification for filing a police report claiming that more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment was stolen from a car he borrowed from a local dealership. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Ohio State suspended Clarett for misleading investigators and for receiving special benefits worth thousands of dollars from a family friend.

Clarett also unsuccessfully challenged the NFL's requirement that players wait three years after high school before turning pro in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He was chosen by the Denver Broncos in last year's draft, but the team cut him in August.

Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said at a news conference the day before the Fiesta Bowl that he had recently spoken with Clarett about opportunities in NFL Europe.

"Obviously, my reaction to that is it's sad," Tressel said Sunday, "because, as I said the last few times people have brought up the subject, my hope would be that he would have an opportunity to go over to NFL Europe and make a comeback."

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine in November 2004, Clarett said coaches and boosters arranged for him to get passing grades, cars and thousands of dollars while at Ohio State. None of the allegations was verified and Clarett never responded to NCAA requests to be interviewed as part of its investigation into Ohio State's athletic program.

Clarett was drafted by the Broncos last year but, because of injury, didn't get much chance to perform in training camp and was released in Denver's first round of cuts. He never got another tryout.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said he was "shocked" when he heard about the incident.

"Shocked. Hoping it's not true, and if it is, he'll have to deal with the consequences, which seem like they'll be very steep," Shanahan said Monday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #26. A second report on Maurice's bond release but this time with a twist ... another chance for ESPN to regurgitate information about Tom Friend's interview with Maurice.



01/03/05
Clarett posts bond, released from jail - ESPN •FB

Updated: Jan. 3, 2006, 11:10 PM ET
Clarett posts bond, released from jail

ESPN.com news services

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While some of Maurice Clarett's ex-teammates slept off the celebration of their latest Fiesta Bowl victory, the former Ohio State running back shuffled into a courtroom Tuesday in handcuffs and jail-issue clothing to face robbery charges.

Clarett, who was released from jail after posting bond, didn't enter a plea Tuesday.

He posted bond and was released later in the day.

Clarett, who led the Buckeyes to the national championship in the same stadium almost exactly three years earlier, faced a judge for the first time since he was accused of robbing two people with a gun in an alley behind a downtown bar early Sunday.

Wearing a loose-fitting tan shirt, dark pants and sandals, Clarett did not speak and was not asked to make a plea. The 22-year-old Clarett was released from Franklin County jail early Tuesday afternoon after posting $50,000 bond, a sheriff's deputy said.

Each of the two charges of aggravated robbery carries a possible sentence of three to 10 years, with another one to three years added to each because a gun was used.

"We are looking forward to investigating the allegations," Clarett's attorney, William Settina, said outside court. "That's all I can say."

According to a police report, Clarett flashed a gun and demanded property from a man and a woman behind the Opium Lounge in downtown Columbus early Sunday morning. He fled with two men in a sport utility vehicle after he was identified by the bar owner, who happened to come out into the alley; no one was injured, and only a cell phone was taken from the alleged victims, police said.

Clarett's next hearing is set for Jan. 12.

Police had been looking for him for the better part of two days before he turned himself in shortly after Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-20 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., on Monday night.

USA Today's national offensive player of the year as a senior at Warren G. Harding (Ohio) High School, Clarett rushed for 1,237 yards and scored 16 touchdowns as a freshman in 2002.

It was Clarett who, as a star freshman tailback, had scored the final touchdown on Jan. 3, 2003, in the same bowl to give the Buckeyes a 31-24 upset of top-ranked Miami in double-overtime. The victory gave Ohio State its first national championship since 1968.

Clarett's fortunes have changed dramatically in the three years since he scored on that five-yard run.

In the summer of 2003 he reported he had lost more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment when a car he had borrowed from a local dealership was broken into. Police later determined that he lied about the theft. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

The investigation led to Ohio State suspending Clarett for misleading investigators, and for receiving special benefits worth thousands of dollars from a family friend.

Clarett dropped out of Ohio State, then challenged the NFL's requirement that players wait three years after high school before turning pro. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court before Clarett lost.

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine in November 2004, Clarett said coaches and boosters arranged for him to get passing grades, cars and thousands of dollars while at Ohio State. None of the allegations was verified, and Clarett never responded to NCAA requests to be interviewed as part of its investigation into Ohio State's athletic program.

After two years in limbo, he was taken in the third round by the Denver Broncos in last year's draft, but the team cut him in August.

Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said the day before the Fiesta Bowl that he had recently spoken with Clarett about playing in Europe.

"As I said the last few times people have brought up the subject, my hope would be that he would have an opportunity to go over to NFL Europe and make a comeback," Tressel said Sunday.

Before the incident, Clarett was negotiating a deal with an NFL team, Josh Luchs, one of Clarett's agents, told ESPN The Magazine's Tom Friend. Clarett was expected to be allocated to NFL Europe if he signed, Friend reported.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #27. Hey, an actual piece of writing from someone at ESPN (well the Sacramento Bee actually). And here I thought we would only see embellished AP articles from here on out. Touche!



01/03/05
Clarett could have been somebody - ESPN •FB

Updated: Jan. 3, 2006, 5:49 PM ET
Clarett could have been somebody

By Mark Kreidler - Special to ESPN.com

It's pretty much a perfect story, at least for those who find themselves drawn to such things. Maurice Clarett's tale features a charismatic figure who squandered his talent, laid waste to his career, tilted at Establishment windmills and ultimately fell all the way down.

He is either tragic or pathetic, and his story allows for any reader to choose that on his own. He either has no future or may just now be on the verge of forcibly finding one, again depending on your perspective.

And his story has been told before, through different people, in different situations. There is almost always a Maurice Clarett somewhere in sports. And sporting America is almost always drawn to that thematic flame.

The Clarett case, though indisputably sad, is not without its darkly comic element. How many guys are (reportedly) in the process of committing a robbery when they get (reportedly) outed by an acquaintance at the scene?

Hey Kreidler, good to see -- whoa, is that a new gun? Did they have a sale at the Sports Authority?

As it was, the people robbed in the alley behind the Opium Lounge (and you couldn't make up a name like that even if you were writing a novel) in downtown Columbus, Ohio, this week surrendered only a cell phone, and they weren't hurt. That's the good news, I guess. The bad is that Maurice Clarett used to stand for something, or so some of us thought. But maybe that's show business.

As it is, Clarett is free on bond and facing two charges that each carry a possible sentence of three to 10 years in prison. He appeared in court in the usual drab jail garb and the cuffs. He turned himself in on Monday night at about the time, coincidentally, that his former Ohio State team was beating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, a place where he once shined.

I'm telling you, this is why nonfiction keeps burning up the best-seller lists.

Of course, Clarett had a chance to be remembered for other things. I wouldn't call him Dwight Gooden -- whose name on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot this year was a stark reminder of how great Gooden was before his own life fell apart -- but Clarett at least had the chance.

He had talent. He was good enough to be a featured player -- as a freshman -- on the Buckeyes team that won the BCS title in 2002 at the Fiesta Bowl. He was good enough to have visions of greatness in the NFL, along with people around him whispering in his ear that he ought to bust that move to the pros right now.

And he had a chance to make history, sort of. Clarett was among those who challenged the NFL's rule that prohibits players from coming into the league until they're at least three years out of high school. It was a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in the end sided with the league's ability to make its rules and stick by them.

By then, Clarett's own life was sliding off the table. Charged with lying to the cops about stuff stolen out of his car. Suspended for the 2003 season by Ohio State. Went to ESPN The Magazine to lay out details of how coaches and boosters cheated to keep him in school and eligible to play football.

Then … nothing.

No calls. No queries. A brief stint with Denver before being cut in training camp last August. The possibility (so says his agent) of signing with some NFL team and getting shipped out to Europe to rehab his game, a la Lawrence Phillips.

This is a guy who made a lot of noise over the past few years without any of it amounting to anything, really. Even his accusations of cheating at Ohio State went nowhere, in part because Clarett wouldn't cooperate with NCAA investigators who wanted to know more.

In the end, that is, Maurice Clarett didn't stand for anything other than a well-worn cautionary tale. He's Example 1,678 (or so) of the notion that it isn't enough in sports to be good. You've got to be able to take talent and shape it. You've got to have a head to go with the body.

And he will disappear now, popping up again only when it's time to go to court or be found innocent or be sent to jail. The ending of his story isn't actually written; it's just that so few people will be around to read it when it is. For sporting America, Clarett already had his tragic moment: He could have lived the life.

Mark Kreidler is a columnist for the Sacramento Bee and a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Reach him at [email protected].

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #28. Another piece of writing from someone at ESPN. This time Gene Wojciechowski tells the cautionary tale of Maurice Clarett and Marcus Vick.



01/11/05
Common lives, plenty of questions for Vick, Clarett - ESPN •FB

Updated: Jan. 11, 2006, 8:53 AM ET
Common lives, plenty of questions for Vick, Clarett

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com

The convenient reaction is to call Marcus Vick and Maurice Clarett thugs. Or punks. Or ungrateful, numb-from-the-neck-up crazies who co-authored the book, "How To Screw Up Your Life Before Your 23rd Birthday."

They had everything. They have nothing. Cautionary tales, right?

Call it coincidence, fate, sad destiny … whatever … but Vick and Clarett have more in common than recent photo sessions with police mug shot cameras. They share a childhood, a confusion, a confluence of circumstances that should give you pause before dismissing them as knuckleheads who deserve whatever bed they've short-sheeted.

In 2002, both were college freshmen in their home states: Vick at Virginia Tech, where he was expected to continue the legacy established by his famous brother, Michael; Clarett at Ohio State, where the Buckeyes soon would name him the first true OSU freshman to start at running back since 1943. No pressure there.

Vick grew up in a part of Newport News, Va., that was harder than the back of your father's hand. Visitors drove through quickly and with their car doors locked. That explains why Michael later used some of his Nike and Atlanta Falcons money to buy his mother a brand-new house in upscale Suffolk.

Clarett lived with his two brothers and 11 cousins at his grandmother's house in a Youngstown, Ohio, "neighborhood" -- if you can call a ghetto a neighborhood -- where the sound of gunshots was commonplace. He ate pork and beans for dinner, a couple of folded slices of bologna (no bread) for lunch. By the time he enrolled at Ohio State, Clarett had attended the funerals of 10 friends, seen two people shot and killed in front of his grandma's house, and served three stints in a juvenile detention center.

I still have the blue notebook and the cassette tape from the hour-plus interview I did with Clarett at the Buckeyes' football offices in 2002. Listening to that tape earlier today, I was struck by his easy laugh, his emotion, his anger, his weariness and his perspective.

"I betcha there's a lot of football players in the nation with a whole lot of stories like mine," he said that day.

And later: "You don't know what I've been through, so you can't judge me. Until I know what you've been through, until I know the reason for doing what you're doing, you can't judge me."

Clarett screwed up the syntax, but you get the point. He wasn't like you and me. He was, in his own words -- at least, when it came to playing football -- "an 18-year-old son of a bitch."

But he was smart. Street smart. Football smart. Maybe too smart for his own good. As we walked through the nearly deserted Ohio State locker room, Clarett casually pointed to another player.

"He is the next Michael Vick," Clarett said.

"What's his name?" I said.

"Troy Smith," Clarett said.

Actually, Marcus Vick was supposed to be the right-handed version of the next Michael Vick, but we know how that turned out. Or do we?

I interviewed Marcus Vick once, for an ESPN TV feature. He was a lot like Michael, in the sense that he'd rather have his nose hairs plucked with pliers than do interviews. He was soft-spoken, measured in his responses, respectful.

But think about the immense pressures on his shoulder pads. It would have been like Eli Manning following his brother Peyton to Tennessee. As it was, we concluded the TV piece with Marcus walking down Michael Vick Hallway at the Va. Tech football facility.

Michael Vick's jersey is retired at Virginia Tech. You can't miss it at Lane Stadium, the same stadium where Marcus would make a play, then hear the public-address announcer accidentally call him "Michael" over the loudspeaker. Habit. It happened occasionally on the road, too.

Marcus wore No. 5. Clarett wore No. 5 during his sophomore year of high school before switching to No. 13. In 2002, you could go to a souvenir store across the street from the Ohio State campus and buy a Clarett Buckeyes replica jersey for $39.95.

Clarett made the game-winning TD run and the game-saving tackle in the national championship game against Miami. But he also said he might consider challenging the NFL's early eligibility rule. The hate mail arrived shortly thereafter.

He was suspended by Ohio State for the 2003 season because he accepted extra benefits. Clarett promptly sued the NFL over its eligibility rule but eventually lost the case in a May 2004 ruling. He accused Ohio State of multiple NCAA violations (none was proved).

Last April, he was a surprise third-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos. He was cut in late August.

And on Jan. 1, he was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery. Some résumé.

Until recently, Marcus Vick's replica Hokies jersey sold for $58.99 at the Campus Emporium in Blacksburg. But that was before he was ticketed for driving with a suspended license last month (he failed to tell his coaches that he was also ticketed for speeding), stomped on the leg of Louisville's Elvis Dumervil during the Gator Bowl, got dropkicked off the team as a junior, then was charged with three misdemeanor counts of brandishing a firearm.

Now, that same jersey sells for $29.99. Plenty in stock.

Vick was suspended for the 2004 season (for possession of marijuana and a conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by allowing underaged girls to have alcohol; he was found innocent of having sex with a 15 year old). And this season at West Virginia, he was disciplined for a middle-finger salute at Mountaineers fans. Never mind that some of the fans called him a rapist, a pedophile, a child molester. Or that the Hokies' team bus drove by a building that featured a sign hanging from one of the windows: "Hide Your Children. Marcus Is In Town."

And for what it's worth, Vick and Tech coach Frank Beamer did wait outside the Louisville locker room in hopes of apologizing personally to Dumervil and Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino. They were told by a U of L official that Dumervil and Petrino weren't interested in discussing the incident.

I'm not making excuses for Clarett or Vick. You do the crime, you serve the time. You make decisions, you live with the consequences.

But I'll forever wonder what would have happened had Clarett won his battle against the NFL or stayed put at Ohio State. I wonder what would have happened had he not been afraid of flying and signed with his out-of-state favorite, Texas, or one of his other finalists: Notre Dame, Miami, Tennessee. He would have been a senior this year.

Marcus also considered Miami and Tennessee, as well as Virginia. What would have happened had he chosen to step outside Michael's considerable shadow? What would have happened had Michael, trying to be a good brother, not spoiled Marcus by giving him a Cadillac Escalade for his freshman season?

I hope Vick and Clarett figure it out, especially Clarett, who doesn't have a financial security net like Marcus does with Michael. I hope, once their legal issues are resolved, they get another chance to play football.

But whatever happens, I'm not going to judge. That's for someone else to do.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at [email protected].

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #29. Just bringing this story back up to speed. ESPN repackages an AP new release. This is simply some backstory information on Maurice. As you will see in some future articles, Maurice is soon to be in the news again. I know, I know ... unpossible! :)



07/26/06
Clarett fires attorneys two weeks before trial - ESPN •FB

Clarett fires attorneys two weeks before trial

Associated Press
College Football News Wire

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two weeks before his trial on aggravated burglary and weapons charges, former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett does not have an attorney.

In a single-paragraph letter Clarett wrote on July 20, he said he fired attorneys William Settina and Robert Krapenc. They filed a motion Monday saying they do not wish to continue as Clarett's lawyers, saying he has not paid their fees and is not cooperating in his own defense.

Court documents do not list any other attorney for Clarett.

Common Pleas Judge David S. Fais scheduled a hearing for Thursday morning to address the situation.

Clarett, 22, turned himself in on Jan. 2 to face charges of flashing a gun and robbing two people in an alley behind a bar.

As a freshman, Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. But that was the last game he played for the Buckeyes.

He sat out the 2003 season after being charged with misdemeanor falsification on a police report. After dropping out of school, he sued to be included in the 2004 NFL draft and lost in court.

A surprise third-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was cut by the Denver Broncos during the preseason.

He has been free on a recognizance bond since his indictment on Feb. 10. He is charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #30. Again, some background information as pretext to Maurice's return to the headlines. Repackaged AP article.



07/26/06
Former Ohio State tailback hires two attorneys - ESPN •FB

Updated: July 27, 2006, 8:09 PM ET
Former Ohio State tailback hires two attorneys

Associated Press
College Football News Wire

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has hired two new attorneys to represent him in his trial on burglary and weapons charges.

Clarett fired attorneys William Settina and Robert Krapenc a week ago, notifying them in a single-paragraph letter.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David S. Fais held a hearing Thursday morning to address Clarett's defense. Bailiff Tim Jackson said court papers showed Nick L. Mango and Michael C. Hoague were hired to represent Clarett.

The 22-year-old Clarett is charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon. Authorities said he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people in an alley behind the Opium Lounge in the early hours of Jan. 1.

"We both feel very strongly that Maurice Clarett is innocent," Hoague said. "There seems to be a rush to judgment in the court of public opinion. This is a sort of kick him while he's down situation."

Clarett, free on a recognizance bond, has an Aug. 14 trial date.

"I'm very confident. I'm just looking forward to my day in court," he said as he left the hearing.

Settina and Krapenc filed a motion Monday saying they did not wish to continue as Clarett's lawyers, charging he has not paid their fees and has not cooperated in his own defense.

But Hoague said Clarett fired the two because he believed very little work had been done on his defense. Clarett's new defense team will focus on the background of his accusers, including the owner of the Opium Lounge, Hoague said.

Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. But that was the last game the freshman played for Ohio State. He sat out the 2003 season after being charged with misdemeanor falsification on a police report, then dropped out of school. He sued to be included in the 2004 NFL draft and lost in court.

A surprise third-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was cut by the Denver Broncos during the preseason.

Clarett plans to play for the Mahoning Valley Hitmen, one of five teams in the Eastern Indoor Football League. The team, based in Clarett's hometown of Youngstown, begins play in January 2007.

Hitmen coach Jim Terry said Thursday that Clarett has not signed a contract with the team yet, pending a fire marshal's inspection of the team's home field. Clarett's proposed contract includes attendance incentives which cannot be finalized until the fire marshal determines the capacity of the team's arena.

The Hitmen's Web site features mug shots of prominent organized crime figures and a gun sounds whenever a page is opened.

The team's motto is "Get Whacked Indoors."

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #31. Oh no, not again. Get the Maurice Clarett media machine gassed up and ready to roll. Repackaged AP story.



08/09/06
Police use Mace on Clarett, arrest him after chase - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 9, 2006, 10:59 PM ET
Police use Mace on Clarett, arrest him after chase

ESPN.com news services

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Maurice Clarett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a highway chase early Wednesday that ended with police using Mace on the former Ohio State running back and finding four loaded guns in his sport utility vehicle.

Officers used Mace to subdue Clarett after a stun gun was ineffective because the former Fiesta Bowl star was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, Sgt. Michael Woods said.

"It took several officers to get him handcuffed," Woods said. "Even after he was placed in the paddy wagon, he was still kicking at the doors and being a problem for the officers."

The complaint police filed when they charged him with carrying a concealed weapon without permit said he had a 9 mm handgun under his legs in the driver's seat of an SUV.

Police also charged him with weaving in and out of lanes on a road before he entered the highway. More charges are possible, Woods said.

The arrest came near the home of a witness set to testify against Clarett next week in the robbery case, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said.

Clarett did not speak to police who tried to interview him at the station before he was moved to the Franklin County Jail.

Wearing tan jail-issue clothes, he talked on the telephone in the booking area, separated from reporters by a window. He was to be held at the jail at least until an arraignment Thursday morning -- which is expected to take place between 8 and 11 a.m. ET -- unless his attorneys work out an agreement for his release, police said.

Clarett made an illegal U-turn on the city's east side and failed to stop when officers, in a cruiser with lights flashing, tried to pull him over, Woods said.

Police said they pursued Clarett onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70, one of the city's main freeways, when he darted across the median and began heading west. Clarett drove over a spike strip that was placed on the highway, flattening the driver's side tires of the SUV, Woods said. A police helicopter in the area helped track the vehicle.

Clarett exited the highway and pulled into a restaurant parking lot about 10 minutes after police say they saw him make the U-turn. Officers removed him from the SUV after he failed to obey numerous orders to exit the vehicle, Woods said.

After Clarett was placed in a police van, officers discovered a loaded assault rifle on the passenger seat and three handguns in the front of the car, including one in a holster in a backpack on the passenger-side floor.

"We don't have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them," Woods said. Police don't know where Clarett got the guns or where he was headed or coming from in the SUV. Federal authorities plan to trace the guns' ownership.

A half-full bottle of vodka was found in the SUV, but no breath test was administered because police had no indication that Clarett was intoxicated, Woods said. Police also found a compact disc of children's songs recorded by Ohio prison inmates that the state distributed last month to prisoners and their families.

The 22-year-old Clarett is currently awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate case. Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Tim Mitchell asked a judge Wednesday to keep Clarett in jail and revoke his bond on the robbery charges, given that Clarett was arrested close to the home of Tywona Douglas, one of the people who identified him in the alley behind the bar.

The bond was not revoked by the judge, instead raised to $1.1 million. If Clarett can post it, he must stay in Franklin County (the county Columbus is in), provide an address and adhere to a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Authorities said he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people of a cell phone in an alley behind the Opium Lounge in Columbus in the early hours of Jan. 1.

Clarett's attorney, Nick Mango, said it was "probably unlikely" that Clarett would be able to post the higher bond, meaning he would stay in jail for the duration of his trial, which starts Monday.

The home address Clarett gave police was his mother's house in Youngstown. A message seeking comment was left at the home.

Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime of the Fiesta Bowl against Miami to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. But that was the last game the freshman played for Ohio State.

He sat out the 2003 season after being charged with misdemeanor falsification on a police report, then dropped out of school. He sued to be included in the 2004 NFL draft and lost in court.

A surprise third-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was cut by the Denver Broncos during the preseason.

Clarett plans to play for the Mahoning Valley Hitmen, one of five teams in the Eastern Indoor Football League. The team, based in Clarett's hometown of Youngstown, is to begin play in January.

Hitmen coach and owner Jim Terry said that there was no indication that anything was wrong when he spoke with Clarett by cell phone early Wednesday morning about the team's upcoming tryouts. The call was disconnected around 1 a.m. and Terry missed Clarett's second call about an hour and a half later, which would have been near the time when police say they saw Clarett make a U-turn.

The arrest will not affect Clarett's status with the team, Terry said.

"We gave him a chance and now we'll wait to see what happens," he said. "I've seen far worse situations than this."

Clarett has not signed a contract with the team yet, pending a fire marshal's inspection of the team's home field. Clarett's proposed contract includes attendance incentives which cannot be finalized until the fire marshal determines the capacity of the team's arena.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #32. For a slightly different twist. ESPN repackages a SportsTicker story.



08/09/06
Former Ohio State RB Clarett arrested for concealed weapon - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 9, 2006, 2:24 PM ET
Former Ohio State RB Clarett arrested for concealed weapon

SportsTicker
College Football News Wire

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Maurice Clarett cannot stay out of trouble.

The former Ohio State star running back was arrested in Columbus early Wednesday for carrying a concealed weapon in his sport-utility vehicle after leading police on a high-speed chase.

Clarett was spotted "weaving back and forth on Brice Road" in the state capital, officer Betty Schwab said. Officers attempted to pull him over, but he refused to stop and "took off" eastbound on Interstate 70, where police kept track of him with a helicopter.

Clarett made a U-turn on the median and headed westbound before police successfully spiked his tires. After the Youngstown native pulled into a parking lot, officers pulled up behind him and ordered him out of his vehicle, but he was non-compliant.

"They tried to tase him ... but found out he was wearing a bulletproof vest," Schwab said.

After finally subduing him, officers found four guns in his vehicle, including "an assault weapon on the floorboard, passenger side."

According to the arrest report, Clarett had a loaded 9-millimeter handgun concealed under his legs on the driver's seat of his silver 2002 Hyundai, a fourth-degree felony. He also was charged with failing to maintain a continuous lane for his erratic driving.

Clarett was in Franklin County Jail late Wednesday morning and will be arraigned on Thursday.

On February 10, Clarett was indicted on two counts of aggravated robbery and a concealed weapon charge stemming from a January 1 incident in which he allegedly held up two people at gunpoint in an alley behind a bar.

Clarett, 22, led Ohio State to a national championship during his freshman year by rushing for 1,266 yards and 16 touchdowns. He scored the winning TD in double overtime in the championship game victory against Miami but never again played for the Buckeyes.

In September 2003, Clarett was charged with misdemeanor falsification for reporting that more than $10,000 in clothing and equipment were stolen from a car that he had borrowed. Later that month, Clarett was suspended for a game for receiving special benefits from a family friend and misleading investigators.

In January 2004, Clarett pleaded guilty to failing to aid a law enforcement officer.

Clarett challenged an NFL ruling that a player had to wait three years after his high school class had graduated to play in the NFL and was granted eligibility for the draft. However, the decision was appealed and overturned.

Once eligible for the NFL, Clarett did not last long. He was a surprise third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2005 but was released after battling a groin injury in the preseason and failed to hook up with another team.

"We tried to reach him quite a bit when he was here," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "What he did have here was a lot of support from our veterans. Our players tried to really take care of this guy, and he wanted no part of it. That was one of the reasons he didn't make our football team.

"I don't think I've ever been around a bunch of guys reaching out to a guy more than Maurice, trying to help him, and the guy not wanting that help. That's a shame because as we all know, everybody's got issues. He was one of the few players we've had who didn't want to be helped."

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #33. Hey a news article that doesn't talk about Maurice's connection to Ohio State ... well, not entirely. Repackaged AP story.



08/09/06
Broncos never connected with Clarett - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 9, 2006, 4:59 PM ET
Broncos never connected with Clarett

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Maurice Clarett cannot stay out of trouble.

DENVER -- Denver Broncos safety Nick Ferguson tried to reach out to Maurice Clarett during last year's training camp, but the former Ohio State running back turned a cold shoulder.

Clarett, taken in the third round of the 2005 draft, wouldn't let any of his teammates get to know him. That's one of the reasons the Broncos cut Clarett before he even played a down in the NFL.

"He was pretty withdrawn, which is really hard to be being around guys like this in the organization," Ferguson said. "If you can't gel with guys on this team, there's a problem."

Upon hearing the news of Clarett's latest brush with authorities -- he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a highway chase early Wednesday -- safety John Lynch couldn't help but feel saddened by the fall of the former Buckeyes star.

"It's a shame," Lynch said. "You don't like to see that with anybody. We spent a short time around here and everyone wants to talk about what went wrong, but the kid was a nice kid. I wish him the best."

Clarett injured his groin early in training camp last year and never got a chance to show the form that helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship at the end of the 2002 season. Clarett's reluctance to associate with teammates was a factor when Denver coach Mike Shanahan decided not to keep him around on injured reserve or the practice squad.

"We tried to reach [out to] him quite a bit when he was here," Shanahan said. "What he did have here was a lot of support from our veterans. Our players really tried to take care of this guy and he wanted no part of it. That's one of the reasons why he didn't make our football team."

When asked if more could've been done to help out the troubled running back, Shanahan shook his head.

"I don't think I've ever been around a bunch of guys reaching out to a guy more than Maurice, trying to help him and a guy not wanting that help," Shanahan said. "That's a shame.

"It's just a shame that this has happened to a guy that [had] so much promise, so much ability. I'm not sure what happened, but it's a real shame."

After Clarett was taken into custody by police in Columbus, Ohio, officers found guns in his sport utility vehicle. He was also wearing a bullet-proof vest.

News of his arrest troubled former Ohio State teammate Tyler Everett, who's been friends with Clarett since they were 12 years old. Everett, a rookie safety trying to earn a spot with Denver, said that didn't sound like the Clarett he knows.

"For him to carry guns and do stuff like that, there has to be more to the story," Everett said. "He's a good guy who's had bad guidance, and listens sometimes to the wrong people."

Clarett is currently awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate Jan. 1 case. Authorities said he flashed a gun and robbed two people of a cell phone in an alley in Columbus.

Everett is expecting to hear from Clarett, who always calls when he gets into trouble.

"I'll be here to talk to him, give him some advice," said Everett, who last heard from his friend when Clarett wished him good luck right before camp.

Clarett's former teammates are still rooting for him to get his life straightened out.

"Of course you've got to feel sorry for anybody in that state," Ferguson said. "I hope someone gets him help.

"I'd hate to see the young man's life have a turn for the worse."

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #34. Here we go. You KNEW this was coming right? In some sort of twisted symbiotic relationship, Tom Friend returns to chronicle the life and times of Maurice Clarett. While Tom's attitude towards Maurice seems to be shifting a bit, he still offers up plenty of rationalizations for Maurice's behavior. Possibly more troubling is Tom Friend's decision to interject himself into the story. Obviously, Maurice involved Mr. Friend in the story, but Tom seems more than eager to create, define and detail his own interactions as part of the news. Surprised?



08/10/06
Clarett's call came two hours before arrest - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 10, 2006, 4:54 PM ET
Clarett's call came two hours before arrest

By Tom Friend
ESPN The Magazine Special

On possibly his last night as a free man, Maurice Clarett was calling on the telephone. I hadn't seen him or heard from him in a year, not since the Denver Broncos kicked him to the curb, but I was on his list Tuesday night. Along with Jim Tressel and LeBron James and some arena football coach. His list of thank-yous.

I looked at the clock when he called, and it was just past 11 p.m. ET. He told me he was driving somewhere, and along the way his cell phone cut in and out. He wasn't loud or belligerent. Instead he seemed melancholy and possibly drunk.

He started in with his news: He was a daddy. His girlfriend, Ashley, had given birth to a baby girl on July 17 and he claimed it had changed his life. "F--- Ohio State, f--- winning the national championship, it's more cool having her,'' he was saying. He said he'd cry a lot when he held her, and that just the other day in his mom's house, he'd cried four times holding her the same afternoon. He said he'd do anything for that little girl, that he'd go to jail for 30 years for this little girl. It wasn't clear what he meant, although it's starting to get clearer now.

I asked him how he was, and he said he was growing up, taking responsibility for what he'd done. He admitted "money used to be everything'' to him and he said, "Look how cocky I used to be. Life lessons have put me on my ass.'' I'd heard this sort of rhetoric before, from almost every troubled athlete I'd ever interviewed, but then he got me. He got me when he said he wanted to dump his whole story on me, when he said "I haven't done s---. I have done nothing but f------ run a football. Don't confuse yourself. I've done nothing but run a f------ football. Don't try to make it bigger than it is.''

He started in then with his thank-yous. I had written a column in ESPN The Magazine last January, after his initial arrest on burglary charges, outlining his potential drinking problem, steroid problem and self-esteem problem. He said he'd hated that story, that he'd hated me, but he was calling now to thank me, for waking him up to reality. He said he'd been calling a lot of people that day, that he'd called Tressel -- the same coach he'd once accused of giving him cars and grades -- and thanked him, too.

Tressel had reached out to Clarett months before, having asked Buckeyes QB Troy Smith for Clarett's cell phone number. They had talked, and Tressel had offered to do all he could for him, and now -- late Tuesday night -- Clarett was saying, "Me and [Tressel] have become cool again. I was talking to Jim Tressel earlier, and said, 'Thank you for being real.' He's been real to me, and I've been real to myself. I don't run from nothing anymore.''

He said he'd also called his old high school buddy LeBron James that day -- who knows if it's true, considering LeBron's playing ball overseas -- and that there were more calls to make. It was almost midnight ET by then, but now Clarett was starting to ramble, starting to sound a little skittish, a little paranoid.

He wondered if someone was overhearing the conversation, if someone might be listening. Was he being followed?

Who knew Clarett had an assault rifle with him the whole time? Or a 9mm gun between his legs? Or that he had a hatchet? Who knew the next morning I'd wake up and hear he was under custody on alleged weapons charges, that he'd been Maced and tasered, that he'd been wearing a bulletproof vest, that he'd probably been wearing it as we spoke?

His attorney, Mike Hoague, came out Wednesday and said that Clarett has recently received death threats, verbal and written, and, suddenly, his pattern of behavior all seemed to make more sense. The people who know him say he's been alternately strong and unstable recently, that the stress of his court case and his baby girl and his uncertain future have him all over the emotional map.

Does someone really want to hurt him? Is someone bugging his phone? Or is he just delusional? Whichever, you've got to go back to last year, to the mess of Los Angeles.

After Ohio State booted him out of school, he went to L.A., where he befriended members of the rap community, manager types. They liked Clarett; he had an easy giggle, and a face they'd seen in the Fiesta Bowl end zone. He was their ticket to the world of sports, and they were his ticket to a lush lifestyle. Hell, he was broke, and they were driving BMWs and living in beachfront property. This was right up Clarett's alley.

He was one of these kids who'd always looked for shortcuts. His mom, Michelle, had worked long hours at a Sears in Youngstown, Ohio, just to support her family, but he found out early that football brought him all the love and cash he could handle. A caterer named Bobby Dellimuti provided a car, and other amenities, and soon, according to Clarett, Ohio State coaches and boosters had done the same. Clarett wasn't too proud to have his hand out. It's who he was.

But in L.A., it was the last thing he needed. He was spotted driving a 745 BMW and living in a mansion, when he should've been training for the NFL. The people in the rap world were sponsoring him, figuring he'd bring them back millions after he went in the first round, but what did they know? Did they know his 40 time?

The first trainer they hooked him up with, in the fall of 2004, was Chad Ikei, out of Arizona. Clarett was 256 pounds by then. A two-hundred-and-fifty-six-pound tailback! And he had the most peculiar work habits.

"He actually wanted me to shut the gym down, so nobody could train when he was training, so he could focus and get in his intensity level, and all that,'' Ikei told me earlier this year. "I'm like 'You going to tell Coach Green someday at the Arizona Cardinals that nobody can work out when you're working out?' ''

His insecurity was mind-boggling. The harder Ikei pushed Clarett, the more Clarett sulked, and, ultimately, he quit.

"The day he quit, we were on a high school track," Ikei said. "He ran one lap, and these kids came out for PE class, and he was like, 'I'm not running in front of all these kids. It's embarrassing.' I said, 'What do you mean? For what? Who cares? He was like, 'Well, baseball season's not in, football season's going on right now, I'm too short and stocky to be a basketball player, so obviously these kids are going to know I'm not playing in the NFL or I'm not doing anything important.' I'm like, 'Who cares?'

"I told him right there, 'No one knows who you are here anyway. So who cares?' He was like, 'No, no, no.' And what made it worse, though, was when we were leaving, these two or three kids came running all the way out to the parking lot. 'Mr. Clarett, Mr. Clarett, can we get your autograph? And he smiles and signs these pieces of paper and then turns to me and is like, 'Well, you said nobody knows me. These people knew me.' I'm going 'The only reason they know you is because you're on ESPN f------ everything up for Ohio State and everybody else.' "

So Clarett quit right then and there. "Maurice was like, 'Just give me what David Boston was getting, and I'll do whatever,' " Ikei says. "He wanted an easy route out. I said, 'You want David Boston's trainer? Here's the guy's number.' "

So Clarett quickly switched to Boston's guru, Charles Poliquin, who denies supplying Clarett with HGH or steroids. (Boston has been suspended by the NFL after testing positive for steroids). Poliquin and Clarett teamed up for six weeks in Phoenix, but it fell apart when Clarett wanted to move back to L.A., back closer to his rap friends.

"I don't know why, he was living nice in Phoenix,'' Poliquin told me earlier this year. "They gave him the latest Beemer. Whoever was sponsoring him was giving him a real nice, plush life. He was driving better cars than five-year veterans of the NFL. I told his people, 'Make the guy take the bus and stay at Motel 6.'

"And he partied too much, oh yeah. When he didn't report back after the Christmas holidays, we found out he was drunk as a skunk in New Orleans. We kept calling his people, 'When is he going to be back? When is he going to be back?' Because he's the type of guy, if you're not on his ass every day, he'll gain three pounds of fat a day. But there's not a lot of guys that want to play pro football when they have a team of money men backing them up. I mean, he was living in Malibu. Right on the beach. You walked out of the house, and there you were on the beach. I've been to the house. It's a nice place. The guy owned like 10 cars and said, pick whatever car you want.

"And he was training at, I don't know, L.A. Sports Club. One of those stars, rich-and-famous gym. Which I told him you can't train [there]. It's a gym for the young and pretty, but you can't get strong, you know. When I was there, there were a bunch of guys from the TV series '24,' and actors and rappers. I would say Maurice was a classic case of Hollywood fever. Among the rich and famous, and he thought he was there with 'em.''

By the 2005 NFL Combine, Clarett was too slow to turn any heads, and his only blessing was that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was arrogant enough to think he could save him. Shanahan thinks the system makes the back, instead of vice versa, so he picked Clarett in the third round and found out the hard way.

The minute Clarett arrived in Denver, the team began to sour on him. At the airport, before flying from Colorado to the rookie symposium, he frantically called the Broncos, saying he'd left a brief case in his airport limo. But there was no brief case in there, just a water bag he always carried around. That's all right, he said, he wanted it.

He would take that water bottle everywhere, including the Bronco weight room, and the team started getting suspicious when, before minicamp practices, he'd grab the bottle and say, "I gotta get my Goose on.'' It wasn't a joke; the Bronco players were convinced he was chugging Grey Goose.

There was another incident at the team hotel, where he was accused of making sexual comments toward a guest. He denied it, but it didn't help that he had also begun alienating members of the Broncos staff. That summer, after minicamp, he had missed a weight-lifting session with the team's strength coach of 11 years, Rich Tuten, and he and Tuten had then engaged in a profane shouting match. Offended by it, Clarett marched into GM Ted Sundquist's office and demanded that Tuten be fired. When Sundquist refused, Clarett -- who hadn't even signed a rookie contract yet -- asked to be traded.

By this point, the Broncos were wary of him. They offered Clarett a $416,000 signing bonus, but only if the contract had default language. But Clarett, against the advice of Clarett's former agents, Steve Feldman and Josh Luchs, turned it down. Feldman and Luchs -- who now, as agents for Gersh Sports, represent the Broncos' new star rookie RB, Mike Bell -- implored Clarett to take the signing bonus, but Clarett wanted to replace it with an incentive package that would pay him first-round money if he rushed for 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. It was his ego talking. Clarett even wanted Pro Bowl language. It was a reach, and if he got cut, he wouldn't see a penny. Obviously, the Broncos agreed to the deal. And when he spent 18 days nursing a groin injury, they cut him. He never carried the ball in a preseason game.

And now what? He had no money, although he claims he's made some periodic cash doing autograph sessions. His rap friends had financed him, with the idea he'd pay them back with his NFL riches. But there were no riches. He left for his hometown of Youngstown, thinking he'd go to NFL Europe and get himself back on the field, get himself financially liquid. But then there was his New Year's Eve arrest in 2006, and his pending court case. Not a team would touch him. "He'll never play again,'' said a league executive. So how was he going to pay these people back? How much did he owe? Were these people on his back? Were these the threats his lawyer spoke about?

Does this explain the assault rifle? The bulletproof vest? The phone call to me?

They found a half-full vodka bottle in his SUV early Wednesday morning. Grey Goose. Something was driving Maurice Clarett to drink (although police said they did not sense he was intoxicated) and it was obviously on his mind Tuesday night. He said his thank-yous to me, to Tressel, to LeBron, and after he hung up with me, he called his newest football coach, Jim Terry.

Terry is the head coach and owner of the Mahoning Valley Hitmen of the Eastern Indoor Football League. This isn't even arena ball, it's minor league arena ball. And this was the only team on earth that wanted Maurice Clarett.

According to Terry, Clarett was on the phone with him at about 1 a.m, a half hour after I was on the phone with Clarett and two hours before the gun arrest in Columbus. Clarett was very likely thanking Terry, too, thanking him for being the last football coach on earth to take a chance on a has-been from Ohio State.

So it all makes sense, all the contriteness, all the thank-yous, all the quasi-goodbyes. If someone was coming after Maurice Clarett, that meant someone was coming after his baby girl. And if someone was coming after his baby girl, he was going to do anything he could to stop it. If that meant carrying four guns and wearing a bulletproof vest, so be it. Maybe, Tuesday night, he knew it was over. Maybe that's why he told me, "I'm a young man going through stress. I'm a person who was scheduled to make millions and didn't make 'em."

The more I think about it, maybe he'd decided Tuesday night was the night to tell everyone how he felt, his last chance for a confessional.

And now he's in maybe the safest, best place for him.

The slammer.

Tom Friend is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at [email protected].

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #35. Repackaged AP story.



08/9/06
Police: Former Ohio State star Clarett arrested with 4 guns in SUV - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 9, 2006, 10:19 PM ET
Police: Former Ohio State star Clarett arrested with 4 guns in SUV

Associated Press
College Football News Wire

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When police ran into Maurice Clarett this time, officers said he was driving erratically and carrying an arsenal that included three semi-automatic handguns and an AK-47-type assault rifle in the front seat -- all loaded.

A highway chase ensued, then ended in the early hours Wednesday when police spiked the former Ohio State star running back's tires. Even then, officers said they could not easily subdue him because the bullet-proof vest he was wearing thwarted their stun guns.

It took several police and pepper spray to get the 6-foot, 245-pounder into handcuffs. The struggle continued as he kicked at the doors of the transport vehicle that took him away.

But Clarett's latest bizarre run-in with the law took perhaps its most troubling turn hours later, when prosecutors asked a judge to keep him in jail and revoke his bond on an earlier robbery charge.

One reason: He was driving a few blocks from the home of a woman who was set to testify against him next week, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said.

The judge raised the bond to $1.1 million. Clarett's attorney, Nick Mango, said it was "probably unlikely" that Clarett would be able to post it, meaning he would stay in jail for the duration of his trial, which starts Monday.

Clarett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, and given a traffic citation, and police said more charges are possible. An arraignment was scheduled for Thursday morning.

Sgt. Michael Woods said Clarett wove in and out of lanes, did a U-turn on a freeway and refused to leave the SUV after a spike stick flattened its tires. The 22-year-old Clarett had a semiautomatic handgun under his legs on the driver's seat, police said, and an assault rifle on the passenger seat. Two other semiautomatic handguns were in the vehicle, including one in a holster in a backpack.

"We don't have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them," Woods said. "But if you've got four guns in your car you're up to no good."

Officers said they also found a partially full bottle of vodka following the arrest, but no breath test was given because there was no indication he was intoxicated, Woods said. On the console, a police photo shows, was a compact disc of children's songs recorded by prison inmates.

Clarett's promising football career was derailed when he was suspended for the 2003 season after being charged with falsifying a police report.

He dropped out of school, then sued and lost in an attempt to be included in the 2004 NFL draft, a challenge that went to the Supreme Court. He was a surprise third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2005 draft but was cut during the preseason.

Earlier this year, he was charged with robbery and carrying a concealed weapon after authorities say he was identified as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people of a cell phone behind a Columbus lounge early on New Year's morning.

Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Tim Mitchell asked a judge Wednesday to keep Clarett in jail and revoke his bond on the robbery charges, given that Clarett was arrested close to the home of Tywona Douglas, one of the people who identified him in that alley.

Police said they don't know where the guns came from or where Clarett was headed or coming from in the SUV, which was registered to a relative of Clarett's in Youngstown. Mango, whom Clarett had not hired to represent him in the new criminal case, said he is concerned about Clarett's mental health.

"He's been under a lot of pressure because of this case," he said, referring to the robbery charge.

Clarett, a high school friend of NBA star LeBron James, became a father when his girlfriend gave birth to a premature daughter last month. When a judge scolded Clarett last week for being late for a hearing on the robbery charges, his attorney said Clarett was taking care of the baby.

Clarett did not speak to police who tried to interview him at the station Wednesday, and his arraignment in that case was scheduled for Thursday.

Clarett had planned to play for the Youngstown-based Mahoning Valley Hitmen, one of five teams in the Eastern Indoor Football League, starting in January. Hitmen coach and owner Jim Terry said he spoke with Clarett by cell phone early Wednesday about upcoming tryouts and there was no hint anything was wrong.

The arrest will not affect Clarett's status with the team, Terry said.

"We gave him a chance and now we'll wait to see what happens," he said. "I've seen far worse situations than this."

As a freshman, Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime of the Fiesta Bowl against Miami to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. It was the last game he played for the Buckeyes.

Associated Press reporters Matt Leingang in Columbus and Devlin Barrett in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.
Football-Click To Shop

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #36. Repackaged AP story.



08/9/06
Timeline: The rise and fall of Maurice Clarett - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 9, 2006, 11:09 PM ET
Timeline: The rise and fall of Maurice Clarett

Associated Press

A timeline of events surrounding former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett:

• January 2001 -- Commits to Ohio State to play college football.

• December 2001 -- Rushes for 10 yards a carry and scores 22 touchdowns during the regular season at Warren's Harding High School. Named Ohio Associated Press Mr. Football and USA Today's high school offensive player of the year.

• January 2002 -- Begins classes at Ohio State after graduating early from Harding.

• Aug. 20, 2002 -- Listed as starting running back, the first time a freshman has opened as the starter at the position since 1943.

• October 2002 -- Misses two games with an injured left shoulder. Says he has received dozens of pieces of hate mail from Ohio State fans since an ESPN The Magazine article earlier in the month that quoted him saying he's thought about leaving college early for the NFL.

• Nov. 23, 2002 -- After returning from injury, rushes for 119 yards on 20 carries, scores on a 2-yard run and sets up another touchdown with a 26-yard pass reception in a 14-9 win over Michigan that boosts the Buckeyes into Fiesta Bowl showdown with Miami.

• December 2002 -- Blasts Ohio State officials for not allowing him to fly home to Youngstown for the funeral of a friend, then accuses university administrators of lying when they say he didn't file necessary paperwork for emergency financial aid for the flight.

• Jan. 3, 2003 -- Dives into the end zone on a 5-yard run, the winning score in a 31-24 double-overtime victory over Miami to give Ohio State its first national title in 34 years.

• July 12, 2003 -- The New York Times quotes a teaching assistant at Ohio State who says Clarett got preferential treatment. She says he walked out of a midterm exam but passed the class after the professor gave him an oral exam.

• July 29, 2003 -- Ohio State confirms the NCAA is investigating Clarett's claim that more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment was stolen in April from a 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Clarett had borrowed from a local dealership.

• Sept. 9, 2003 -- Charged with misdemeanor falsification for the police report on the theft. The charge carries a penalty ranging from probation to six months in jail and $1,000 fine.

• Sept. 10, 2003 -- Athletic director Andy Geiger announces Clarett is suspended for the season. Geiger says Clarett received special benefits worth thousands of dollars from a family friend and repeatedly misled investigators.

• Sept. 23, 2003 -- Sues the NFL, challenging the rule that a player must be out of high school three years to be eligible for the draft.

• Dec. 17, 2003 -- Ohio State says university committee finds no evidence to support allegations of academic misconduct by athletes, including Clarett.

• Jan. 14, 2004 -- Pleads guilty in Franklin County Municipal Court to failure to aid a law enforcement officer, a lesser charge than lying on a police report. Judge Mark Froehlich ordered him to pay the maximum fine of $100. He will serve no jail time and the charge won't appear on a criminal record.

• Feb. 5, 2004 -- Ruled eligible for the NFL draft by a U.S. District Judge in New York.

• April 19, 2004 -- A federal appeals court puts that ruling on hold.

• April 20, 2004 -- Clarett files an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

• April 22, 2004 -- The NFL argues it would be unfair to a team that picked Clarett if he were later ruled ineligible. Supreme Court refuses to intervene. A second emergency appeal is turned down.

• May 24, 2004 -- The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally rules against Clarett. The ruling means Clarett will not be eligible for a supplemental draft and will have to wait for the 2005 draft to enter the NFL.

• Nov. 9, 2004 -- Alleges in an ESPN The Magazine article that coach Jim Tressel or his staff arranged for him to get passing grades, cars and money for bogus summer jobs. Geiger denies the allegations.

• April 4, 2005 -- Supreme Court declines to hear Clarett's appeal.

• April 23, 2005 -- Chosen in the third round of the NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.

• Aug. 28, 2005 -- Broncos cut Clarett after he was sidelined for most of the preseason with a groin injury.

• Jan. 1, 2006 -- Accused of robbing two people at gunpoint in an alley behind a Columbus bar and is wanted by police on two counts of aggravated robbery.

• Aug. 9 -- Arrested after highway chase that police say started when he refused to pull over after a traffic violation. Police say they use pepper spray on him and find three handguns and an AK-47 assault rifle inside the vehicle he was driving.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

CBS Sportsline article. Will it EVER end? Mike Freeman pens this articles. Who is Mike Freeman? Mike is the same writer that started this whole saga with tales of Maurice Clarett, Norma McGill and academic fraud at Ohio State while he was working for the New York Times.



08/10/06
No, Mo: Clarett needs help before spiral becomes death spin - CBS Sportsline •FB

No, Mo: Clarett needs help before spiral becomes death spin

By Mike Freeman
CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist

The face in the mug shot looks worn and sorrowful. The face seems to have aged 30 years since the last time I saw it up close, not so long ago. Thick lines dance across the forehead. The eyes are glossy and squinting.

That cannot be the same face. The same one I saw after knocking on the door of Maurice Clarett's Ohio State campus apartment some three years ago, back in the days when Clarett was a budding ruler of college football and not a pathological problem child just one yard away from being 6-feet under.

The face was different then. I was a reporter for the New York Times and had been working for months on a story about claims from a teaching assistant that Clarett had passed classes despite barely attending them. There were also accusations that Clarett had cheated on exams.

After knocking loudly on Clarett's front door, I saw Clarett pull back blinds covering a nearby window. There he was, and that face was startlingly different from the one in this week's mug shot seen around the country.

He smirked at me, knowing who I was, since I had been attempting to contact him for weeks. That face, then, was thin and sharp, creased with jagged lines. The smirk. The cockiness. One look said it all -- screw you, screw your story, screw everybody. I'm Maurice Clarett.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked. No response. The blinds closed, the face disappeared and the sordid legend of Mo Clarett was just beginning.

Clarett has never been someone in possession of large doses of humility no matter how much people who claim to know him protest to the contrary. You see, the greatest crime Clarett might have committed is not packing pistols or allegedly robbing someone or just acting overall like a pugnacious turd.

It is that Clarett believed, back in those Ohio State days and beyond, that his athletic gifts made him immune from the normal rules of society and decency. Clarett never understood that once he could no longer run or score touchdowns, his armor faded and his charm disintegrated.

Once football was done, he was just a guy.

Clarett's mind had been underutilized and his ego nicely gorged. It was a disastrous combination that set him up for an inevitable fall.

In fact, since Ohio State had treated him like his name was President Clarett, he never understood what he actually was, and that is a running back, not a rabbi. Not a senator. Not a lifesaving firefighter. Not the son of a wealthy entrepreneur who owns a third home in Sag Harbor and could buy his son's way out of trouble with a nice donation to the alumni fund.

He was a running back. That's all. That's it.

It is easy to make fun of Clarett now and have a chuckle about one of the most dramatic falls from grace any athlete has ever endured. It is easy to laugh at that sad face in the mug shot. It would be simple to quip that Clarett allegedly packed a militia starter kit in his trunk or how it is no coincidence that Maurice and Miranda begin with the same letter.

Simple, yes, and for sure there are jokes at his expense to be had and one-liners to be harpooned. And for sure he deserves these cracks. Yet there is a serious and frightening aspect to the Clarett cautionary tale: Unless someone, anyone can mount a dramatic intervention in this man's so-called life, he is going to turn into a scarier version of Mike Tyson.

Or worse, Clarett is going to be dead soon.

It seems almost preordained that in the near future we will watch Clarett on television O.J. his way down an interstate, a hundred cop cars in pursuit, and television helicopters swarming above. Or we'll flip on the radio or click CBS SportsLine.com and see the headline: "Clarett, 22, found dead."

Or shot or stabbed or some other such ugliness. Maybe he will hurt someone else, someone who does not possess a bulletproof vest the way he allegedly did.

Anyone who knows him, someone close to him, please help save this man's life. He is a walking headstone.

When it comes to helping him, by the way, where is Ohio State? Where are his friends? Where is childhood buddy LeBron James? Where is the great Jim Brown, who publicly stood by Clarett during Clarett's earlier troubles? Is he friendless at a time when he needs supporters the most? Is he alone?

And please do not look upon Clarett with those condescending eyes. In some ways, we helped create this FrankenBuckeye. Ohio State certainly did. There were obvious clues that Clarett was slowly and steadily becoming an arrogant jerk who was receiving special treatment and extra benefits.

After all, how is it that someone who came from a lower-class background could afford his own off-campus apartment and sport utility vehicle?

Ohio State, with a then-arrogant athletic director and head coach who never seems to see any wrongdoing ever, did not rein in Clarett as his sense of entitlement grew. Why are we then suddenly shocked when he becomes almost irreparably uncontrollable?

We all know someone like Clarett. The government says no hair gel allowed in the carry-on bags because of a heightened alert status and there is always that loudmouth who thinks the rules do not apply to him and argues to bring the gel onboard anyway.

In Denver, even before playing one game, he reportedly demanded that a Broncos team official be fired. He has been accused of drinking hard alcohol before practice. Teammates wondered: Who does this rook think he is?

It would not be shocking if police claims that Clarett resisted arrest and needed to be subdued with pepper spray were accurate. That would be typical him. In his mind the rules apply to the other guy.

So here we are again, shaking our heads over Clarett, wondering what is next for the man who had a dream freshman year culminating in that dramatic Fiesta Bowl, only to see his once promising life turn into an ugly nightmare.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #37. I'm hoping this article is mostly about Santonio Holmes ... I am wrong.



08/10/06
Holmes at training camp as Clarett heads to jail - ESPN •FB

Updated: Aug. 10, 2006, 11:49 AM ET
Holmes at training camp as Clarett heads to jail

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com

LATROBE, Pa. -- Sure, Santonio Holmes had heard the news. Who hadn't? His former Ohio State teammate and, yes, his friend, Maurice Clarett once again was in handcuffs, in a courtroom, and most definitely in trouble.

This time Clarett is charged with carrying concealed weapons after police found four loaded guns in his vehicle. Of course, Clarett made them work for it. There was a highway car chase that didn't end until his tires were punctured. They tasered him, but the man was wearing a bulletproof vest. A bulletproof vest. They finally had to use pepper spray to subdue him, and even then he kept trying to squirm for extra yardage in the back of the squad car.

Yeah, that sounds like Clarett -- always tough to bring down with one defender.

Holmes heard the news here at the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on the campus of Saint Vincent College, where Benedictine priests in robed attire stand on the sidelines during seven-on-seven drills. Meanwhile, back in Columbus, Ohio, Clarett is behind bars, his future, if you can call it that, in stark contrast to the possibilities available to the millionaire Holmes, who was the Steelers' first-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

"The first thing that ran through my mind when I heard about it is, I don't know what got into this guy," said the rookie wide receiver after Wednesday evening's practice. "He's a changed man. At first, he had goals set to be a running back in the NFL. Now I don't know where he's going to go."

How about prison? There's the concealed weapons charge, a traffic violation and the likelihood of additional federal charges being filed as early as Thursday. Those will make his pending aggravated robbery case look small time.

What now seems like decades ago, a younger, more carefree Clarett led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002. He was a true freshman, and in that same Ohio State class was a wide receiver from Belle Glade, Fla. -- Holmes.

Holmes redshirted that year, while Clarett became a national star. His Buckeyes career, so to speak, would essentially last one brilliant and bizarre season. Before long, he was gone. You know most of the details. Everybody does.

"I don't know what happened to him, what got into him," said Holmes. "I just know that's not the Maurice Clarett that I knew. And I know the fans know that's not the Maurice Clarett that played football at Ohio State."

Clarett would have been a senior last season. He could have been part of one of the great Ohio State NFL draft classes. Holmes was chosen with the No. 25 pick. Clarett could have ... should have been there, too.

"No doubt," said Holmes, when asked if Clarett had NFL-level talent.

But that was then. The thought of Clarett's playing football again is so preposterously small that it's not even worth discussing. Football? Clarett's next uniform could be something in the prison jumpsuit variety. And it could be that way for a very long, long time.

Maybe that's why Holmes sounded like someone who couldn't fully comprehend how far Clarett had fallen. He remembers the engaging Clarett, the playful Clarett, the smiling Clarett. That's the Clarett he roots for. This other Clarett isn't familiar to him.

"I just know he's not that type of person everybody is portraying him to be," Holmes said.

It isn't a portrayal. It's fact. Clarett's rap sheet is longer than a corn stalk. If he hasn't hit rock bottom, he can see it from his jail cell.

As Holmes walked slowly off the field Wednesday night (he had an ice wrap on one leg), fans began calling his name. They wanted autographs. They always want autographs.

Holmes limped over to the ropes separating the Steelers fans from one of the practice fields and began signing. About 30 yards away, someone held up an Ohio State jersey.

Ah, yes, there are Buckeyes everywhere, including a troubled and disgraced one in Columbus. Needless to say, the OSU fans weren't holding up Clarett's old number, the one that used to be for sale in Columbus supermarkets and souvenir shops.

Strange how this worked out. Then again, there is nothing ordinary about the life and troubled times of Maurice Clarett.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at [email protected].