It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Not him, not after what he
did.

He ran for 2,194 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior in high
school. He was the USA Today Offensive Player of the Year and was
named Mr. Football by the Associated Press.

He led Ohio State to its first national championship in
thirty-five years, a season in which he set school records for most
100-yard games by a freshman, tallying seven, most points by a
freshman, with 108, and most touchdowns by a freshman.

Meet sophomore running back Maurice Clarett. He was a preseason
All-American, playing on a team returning all 11 starters on
offense.

He was one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy
Award and the best running back in the country. It is too bad that
he is also ineligible.

Clarett elected to walk out of the midterm for his introductory
course in African American and African studies because he was
unprepared for the test. He never took the midterm or the final
exam, yet passed the class after completing two elementary oral
exams.

Clarett is also being charged with a misdemeanor for issuing
false damage reports on his car that was broken in to, claiming
that more than $10,000 worth of clothing, electronic equipment and
money was taken from his car. Until the investigations have been
resolved, Clarett’s suspension will not be repealed, leaving fans
with a stunned, shocked, “Say it ain’t so, Mo” sentiment.

Perhaps the Maurice Clarett saga is just an example of an
amateur athlete getting too much too soon. Sadly, it is an all too
familiar plot that is unfolds all too often in sports.

It starts at an early age. Standout athletes are treated
differently and placed on a pedestal above everyone else. They can
do no wrong–even when they do. Athletes are capable of performing
physical feats that the average person is not, but that alone does
not make them better people, simply better athletes.

Rarely is there an athlete who prides himself on his exploits
off the court or off the field as much as they pride themselves on
their abilities on. Why then should athletes receive benefits that
other people do not?

I may not have a forty inch vertical or be able to run the forty
yard dash in 4.3 seconds, but what does that have to do with me
taking a midterm?

It is unlikely that Maurice Clarett will play for the Buckeyes
this season, which will surely make OSU’s national title defense
much more difficult. This is especially troubling considering that
OSU was one of only a handful of teams who realistically had any
shot at the national championship this season.

Coaches and teammates of Clarett claim that he will be sorely
missed, for he brought passion, an understanding of the game, and a
strong work ethic to the team. However, they all are quick to point
out that no one player is bigger than the team and bigger than
their program, or any program for that matter, but especially one
that has as much storied history as The Ohio State University.

If Clarett were truly a team player however, he would not have
sacrificed Ohio State’s best interests for his own. Clarett now
wants to challenge the NFL’s rule that states a player cannot enter
the draft until three years after graduating from high school,
meaning he would not be eligible until the 2005 season. Clarett
does not understand that no one player is bigger than the game.

To ask the NFL to change its rules for him is arrogant and
selfish. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, though. Being eligible
never was one of Maurice Clarett’s strong points.