The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds (Merged)

[3yardsandacloud]

Background Information

I thought some background information from Jim Tressel's days at Youngstown State might be helpful. Here's the NCAA Public Report on the Youngstown State University Investigation. It details the investigation and penalties from the case surrounding (former YSU Quarterback) Ray Issac and (Chairman of the Board of Trustees of YSU and CEO of Phar-Mor discount drug store chain) Michael "Mickey" Monus while Jim Tressel was head football coach at YSU.


02/16/00
YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY PUBLIC INFRACTIONS REPORT - NCAA •FB


Public Infraction Report


FOR RELEASE:
CONTACT:
February 16, 2000
Jack Friedenthal, Chair
10:00 a.m. EST
NCAA Division I

Committee on Infractions
George Washington University


YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY PUBLIC INFRACTIONS REPORT


INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA---This report is organized as follows:


I. Introduction.
II. Findings of violations of NCAA legislation.
III. Committee on Infractions penalties.



I. INTRODUCTION.

This case involved the football program at Youngstown State University and primarily concerned violations of NCAA bylaws governing extra benefits and institutional control. Youngstown State University is a Division I-AA institution and a member of the Mid-Continent and Gateway (football) Conferences. The university has an enrollment of approximately 11,353 students and sponsors 6 men's and 10 women's intercollegiate sports.

This case was handled through the summary-disposition process and was reviewed by the Division I Committee on Infractions during its November 5-7, 1999, meeting. The summary-disposition process is a cooperative endeavor designed to resolve major violations of NCAA rules without an in-person hearing before the committee, and includes the member institution, involved individuals and the NCAA enforcement staff. The summary-disposition process is used when the NCAA enforcement staff, the member institution and involved individuals agree on the facts in an infractions case and agree that those facts constitute major violations of NCAA legislation. The institution and involved individuals also suggest appropriate penalties.

In this case, the committee commends Youngstown State for its thorough and aggressive pursuit of information relating to the finding of violations of NCAA legislation despite the fact that these violations were beyond the four-year statute of limitations and might have resulted in the forfeiture of the institution's 1991 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.


II. FINDINGS OF VIOLATIONS OF NCAA LEGISLATION.


A. IMPERMISSIBLE TRANSPORTATION AND MONEY PROVIDED TO AN ELIGIBLE STUDENT-ATHLETE. [NCAA BYLAWS 16.12.1 AND 16.12.2.3]


1. On numerous occasions during the period beginning August - September 1988 and continuing through the spring of 1992, a representative of the institution’s athletic interests, who was at the time a member and chairperson of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees, gave at least $10,000 in cash and checks to a football student-athlete for his personal use.

2. In the fall of 1988, the athletics representative instructed the football student-athlete to contact a business associate regarding the use of automobiles. The football student-athlete contacted the business associate who provided the free use of automobiles to the eligible football student-athlete.

a. Receipt of Money

The former football student-athlete testified that, while a trustee, the athletics representative provided him with at least $10,000 in cash and checks beginning in August or September 1988 through spring 1992. The first cash payment received by the former football student-athlete was for $150 in 1988 to attend a fair. Subsequent cash and checks were received, sometimes from the athletics representative himself and on other occasions from his business associate and employees.

In his testimony, the former student-athlete could not always remember the particulars regarding the date, amount and circumstances of each cash payment received. However, he also received at least six checks totaling $7,600, which were introduced into evidence by the government at the jury tampering trial. The dates and amounts of those checks are as follows:

1991?.....$1,600.00 (exact date unavailable)

01/01/91?...$ 450.00

12/27/91?...$ 800.00

02/14/92?...$3,000.00

03/20/92?...$ 750.00

01/14/91?...$1,000.00

The former student-athlete’s testimony regarding receipt of money was corroborated by other witnesses at the trial, including the booster himself. The former football student-athlete was interviewed by telephone in connection with the institution’s internal investigation. During the telephone interview the student-athlete affirmed his trial testimony.

b. Receipt of Automobiles

Both the former football student-athlete and a business associate of the athletics representative reported that while a trustee the booster arranged with the business associate to provide the former football student-athlete free use of automobiles. The business associate stated that he provided the former student-athlete with two or three automobiles during the time period in question.

A number of the student-athlete’s former teammates were personally interviewed by the institution’s Internal Review Committee in connection with the institution’s internal investigation. All former players interviewed, except one, either stated that the student-athlete had a car during the football season or that they heard others talking about his having a car and speculated as to how he could afford it.


COMMITTEE RATIONALE

The committee agreed with the institution and the enforcement staff that the facts contained in this finding constitute violations of NCAA legislation.

This information first came to light in early March 1998, during a prosecution by the United States for jury tampering. The trial involved the athletics representative, then no longer a trustee, and the former Youngstown State football student-athlete. During the course of the trial, the former student-athlete testified that, while a trustee, the athletics representative had provided him with money and the use of automobiles from 1988 through 1992, a period during which the former student-athlete was a member of the institution's football team.


B. LACK OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL [NCAA CONSTITUTION 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.8.1 and 6.4.2]

In January 1994, the institution failed to exercise appropriate institutional control in the conduct and administration of the football program by not taking thorough and in-depth action to investigate possible violations of NCAA legislation after receiving information concerning possible violations.


COMMITTEE RATIONALE

The committee concurred with the university and the enforcement staff's conclusion that violations of the NCAA constitution occurred when the university failed to take appropriate action in January 1994 to investigate reported violations of NCAA legislation after receiving information indicating violations had occurred. The two primary considerations that led to this conclusion were: (i) testimony given by the former football student-athlete in March 1998 during the aforementioned jury tampering trial, and (ii) the university's failure to properly investigate the information contained in a January 1994 letter from a former NCAA director of enforcement to the institution informing it of anonymous allegations of possible NCAA violations in the institution’s athletics program.

Specifically, the former director of enforcement advised the institution in January 1994 that anonymous information had been received alleging the following possible NCAA violations: (i) at least thirteen football student-athletes were employed by a local business during the football season, (ii) the former football student-athlete drove an automobile during the 1991 football season provided by the business (the business was owned by the former trustee and athletics representative) and (iii) the director of athletic development provided money to non-scholarship student-athletes through the institution’s booster organization, the Penguin Club. In his letter, the former director of enforcement advised the institution that if it chose to investigate the anonymous allegations of NCAA violations and found that violations actually occurred, it would be obligated to self-report the violations to the NCAA enforcement staff.

Upon receipt of the information contained in the letter from the former director of enforcement, the university president held a series of five meetings within the next month with institutional staff members including the faculty athletics representative, the executive director of intercollegiate athletics, the head football coach and the compliance officer. In these meetings, the executive director of intercollegiate athletics and the head football coach assured the president that these allegations were baseless.

Despite the president’s instructions to review the anonymous allegations, the executive director of intercollegiate athletics failed to do so and sent a memorandum once again assuring the president that there was no basis to substantiate the allegations and further inquiry was not necessary. Based upon these assurances contained in the memorandum, the president advised the NCAA by letter dated February 18, 1994, that there was no basis to substantiate the allegations or to suggest that a further inquiry was appropriate.

After the testimony in the jury tampering case and the NCAA violations revealed by the institution’s internal investigation as described in Finding II-A, it became clear that there had been at least some merit to the information received in 1994 regarding possible NCAA violations. Therefore, as part of its inquiry regarding the money and cars received by the former football student-athlete from the one-time trustee and athletics representative, the internal review committee also investigated how the institution's 1994 review had been conducted. This committee interviewed the current executive director of intercollegiate athletics/head football coach, the executive director of intercollegiate athletics at the time of the violations, the assistant athletic director/senior woman administrator at the time of the violations, who is now the associate executive director of intercollegiate athletics/senior woman administrator, and an assistant football coach who remains in that position.

According to these individuals, the review in 1994 consisted of informal meetings among the director of athletics, the head football coach and the assistant director of athletics/senior woman administrator. Specifically, there were no interviews with other coaches, members of the football team, the former football student-athlete in question or the former trustee booster. There was no in-depth investigation of the information received in 1994 regarding possible NCAA violations. When asked why no in-depth review was conducted, the former director of athletics stated that he believed a disgruntled former employee had made the anonymous allegations to the NCAA. The head football coach agreed.


III. COMMITTEE ON INFRACTIONS PENALTIES.

For the reasons set forth in Parts I and II of this report, the Committee on Infractions found that this case involved violations of NCAA legislation.


A. ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE UNIVERSITY.

In determining the appropriate penalties to impose, the committee considered certain actions taken by the institution. among which are the following:

1. The university received formal compliance reviews by the Mid-Continent Conference in 1998 and 1999.

2. Athletics department staff members have attended NCAA regional compliance seminars in each of the past six years.

3. The university has added three new administrators to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to assist with compliance-related activities.

4. In 1997 the university adopted a manual that systematically delineates and reviews all policies and procedures and defines a formal approval policy process for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.


B. PENALTIES SELF-IMPOSED BY THE UNIVERSITY.

The Committee on Infractions adopted as its own the following penalties proposed by the institution:

1. The university will reduce by two the number of initial financial aid awards in the sport of football for the 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years.

2. The university will reduce by five the number of expense-paid recruiting visits in the sport of football for the 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years.

3. The university will publicly reprimand the former trustee and booster and permanently disassociate him from the athletics programs.

4. The university will publicly reprimand the former football student-athlete and permanently disassociate him from the athletics programs.


C. ADDITIONAL PENALTIES IMPOSED BY THE COMMITTEE ON INFRACTIONS.

The Division I Committee on Infractions agreed with and approved of the actions taken by the institution. In striking contrast to its behavior in 1994, the institution has now been diligent and conscientiousness in its pursuit of information relating to potential NCAA violations that were committed at a time clearly beyond the statue of limitations. In consideration of the significant and meaningful self-imposed sanctions, the committee decided not to impose additional penalties, not to obligate the institution to forfeit its 1991 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship as would normally be required in accordance with Bylaw 31.2.2.4, and not to require the institution to reimburse funds resulting from participation in this championship, as set forth in NCAA Bylaw 31.2.2.5.


Because Youngstown State University agreed to participate in the summary-disposition process, admitted to violations of NCAA rules and self-imposed penalties, there is no appeal option in this case.

The Committee on Infractions wishes to advise the institution that it should take every precaution to ensure that the terms of the penalties are observed. The committee will monitor the penalties during their effective periods, and any action contrary to the terms of the penalties or any additional violations shall be grounds for imposing more severe sanctions in this case.

Should any portion of any of the penalties in this case be set aside for any reason other than by appropriate action of the Association, the penalties shall be reconsidered by the Committee on Infractions. Should any actions by NCAA Conventions directly or indirectly modify any provision of these penalties or the effect of the penalties, the committee reserves the right to review and reconsider the penalties.


NCAA COMMITTEE ON INFRACTIONS

Alice Gresham Bullock

Richard J. Dunn

Jack H. Friedenthal (Chair)

Frederick B. Lacey

Gene A. Marsh

Josephine R. Potuto

Thomas E. Yeager



APPENDIX A

Case Chronology

March 4, 1998: News reporter covering jury tapering trial notified institution of possible NCAA violations involving former football student-athlete and a booster who was a former university trustee. University President met with Intercollegiate Athletics Compliance Officer. Commissioner of Gateway Football Conference, Patty Viverito, was notified of possible NCAA violation.

March 5 and 6, 1998: University President met with Intercollegiate Athletics Compliance Officer, Vice President for Development and Community Affairs, and University General Counsel. Internal Review Committee was formed to begin the inquiry process.

March 6, 1998: University President sent a letter to Viverito, stating intention of university to investigate alleged violation and self-report its findings to NCAA. Viverito agreed to serve as outside advisor to university and assist with development of review process and formation of necessary questionnaires. Copy of the March 6 letter was also sent to NCAA Director of Enforcement [Charles Smrt].

March 23, 1998: University President received letter from NCAA encouraging university to provide results of internal inquiry to the enforcement staff. Internal Review Committee proceeds with the inquiry.

June 3, 1999: Following comprehensive investigation of allegations, a report of Internal Review Committee was sent to Viverito.

June 11, 1999: Viverito recommended that report be referred to David Price, Vice President for Enforcement and Student Athlete Reinstatement, NCAA.

June 14, 1999: Report of Internal Review Committee was sent to NCAA.

June 1999: Enforcement staff members were assigned to process case.

June 22, 1999: University provided enforcement staff with additional materials relevant to alleged violation (trial transcript, etc.).

August 10, 1999: University and NCAA enforcement staff conduct conference call regarding alleged violations. University agreed that major violations took place during the 1988-1991 time frame and elected to enter into summary-disposition process with NCAA.

August 18 and 19, 1999: NCAA enforcement staff visited university's campus and interviewed institutional staff members. Additional guidance regarding summary-disposition process was provided and staff suggested that university continue its efforts to reach former football student-athlete [Ray Isaac], former trustee and booster [Michael Monus], and former trustee's business associate [George Turner]. After prolonged effort, university was successful in contacting and interviewing former football student-athlete and business associate.

September - October, 1999: University and enforcement staff collaborates in drafting summary-disposition report.

October 20, 1999: Summary-disposition report submitted to Division I Committee on Infractions.

November 6, 1999: Summary-disposition report reviewed by Division I Committee on Infractions during its November 5-7 meeting in Indianapolis.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN articles. Here are several ESPN articles that were not listed or slipped by without being noticed. I will not number them as they are repackaged news from other sources, mainly the AP. I list them to show the entirety of ESPN coverage regarding the Maurice Clarett allegations, and to give ESPN it's due credit for covering "both sides" of the story. Although, I would suggest that when ESPN repackages news from other sources, they generally use only the portions that seem to support their position on the story.



11/14/04
Geiger glad NCAA is coming to campus to investigate Clarett's allegations - ESPN •FB

Sunday, November 14, 2004
Geiger glad NCAA is coming to campus to investigate Clarett's allegations
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger is happy the NCAA is coming to the university's campus Monday to investigate allegations made by former Buckeyes star Maurice Clarett.

"I hope there is the most thorough investigation in the history of intercollegiate athletics, because this is so bogus I can't even characterize it," Geiger told reporters after Saturday's loss at Purdue.

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine released this week, Clarett accused coach Jim Tressel, his staff and school boosters of arranging for him to get passing grades, cars and thousands of dollars, including for bogus summer jobs.

Geiger said many of them were found to be baseless in investigations by the NCAA and the university.

"The allegations are so sweeping, so over the top that we are going to be forced to spend huge resources, so much time and energy and effort, to try and get this right," Geiger said. "This isn't going to be solved by the Michigan game or by (the time of) a bowl game. It will take months, I imagine."

Tressel sternly shook his head no when asked if the article distracted his players from the game against Purdue, which the Boilermakers won 24-17.

On Sunday, The Columbus Dispatch reported that 64 car dealers are part of a program to give free cars to Ohio State coaches and members of the athletic department staff in exchange for perks, such as access to great tickets.

The program is allowed by the NCAA at Division I schools, and it is up to the schools to monitor it, NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Kearns told the newspaper.

Clarett said Tressel set him up with a free loaner car from the same dealership where the coach gets his cars under the program.

Geiger said Tressel did try to help Clarett buy a car through the dealership that leases cars to several Ohio State coaches and administrators. But Clarett and his mother did not meet with the dealer to make arrangements to buy the car, Geiger said, and the dealership came to Columbus several days later to repossess it.

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


11/14/04
NCAA to make campus visit Monday - ESPN •FB

Sunday, November 14, 2004
NCAA to make campus visit Monday
ESPN.com news services

By invitation from Ohio State, the NCAA will have a representative on campus Monday to investigate allegations of improper benefits from Maurice Clarett and other former players, athletic director Andy Geiger said Saturday.

Clarett has accused coach Jim Tressel, his staff and school boosters of arranging for him to get passing grades, cars and thousands of dollars, including for bogus summer jobs. His claims, reported Tuesday by ESPN The Magazine on ESPN.com, have been corroborated by former Buckeyes players Marco Cooper, Curtis Crosby and B.J. Barre.

The university has denied the allegations.

"I hope there is the most thorough investigation in the history of intercollegiate athletics, because this is so bogus I can't even characterize it," Geiger told reporters during the Ohio State-Purdue game in West Lafayette, Ind.

"We welcome [the NCAA]. We invited them. We asked them to, please, participate."

Most of Clarett's charges were addressed as part of an NCAA probe that found the star running back -- a freshman at that time -- lied to investigators, leading to his suspension from the team he helped win the 2002 national championship.

Geiger said many of the accusations were found to be baseless in investigations by the NCAA and the university.

"The allegations are so sweeping, so over the top that we are going to be forced to spend huge resources, so much time and energy and effort, to try and get this right," Geiger said. "This isn't going to be solved by the Michigan game or by [the time of] a bowl game. It will take months, I imagine."

Geiger said Tuesday that the NCAA investigated those charges in the summer of 2003, when Clarett misled investigators 17 times. His playing eligibility was then revoked.

Clarett also has charged that boosters provided him with cash during the national championship season and that tutors did classwork for him.

Cooper, a former Buckeyes linebacker, also told ESPN The Magazine he had bogus landscaping jobs, received furniture from a booster and borrowed cars from Columbus dealerships in exchange for signed Ohio State memorabilia. He was kicked off the team for drug possession.

Clarett told the magazine he took "the fall" for Tressel and Ohio State when meeting with the NCAA investigators but was subsequently "blackballed" when he tried to return to school.

Tressel sternly shook his head no when asked if the article distracted his players from the game against Purdue, which the Boilermakers won 24-17.

Geiger expressed faith in the Ohio State coaching staff, compliance officers and academic counselors.

"We don't duck. We're not afraid of what's coming. We're not afraid of what's here," Geiger said.

Friends and family members say Clarett has been working out with a personal trainer in preparation for the 2005 NFL draft. He has not spoken publicly in months.

On Sunday, The Columbus Dispatch reported that 64 car dealers are part of a program to give free cars to Ohio State coaches and members of the athletic department staff in exchange for perks, such as access to great tickets.

The program is allowed by the NCAA at Division I schools, and it is up to the schools to monitor it, NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Kearns told the newspaper.

Clarett said Tressel set him up with a free loaner car from the same dealership where the coach gets his cars under the program.

Geiger said Tressel did try to help Clarett buy a car through the dealership that leases cars to several Ohio State coaches and administrators. But Clarett and his mother did not meet with the dealer to make arrangements to buy the car, Geiger said, and the dealership came to Columbus several days later to repossess it.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.



11/20/04
Stories should be better 'vetted' - ESPN •FB

Saturday, November 20, 2004
Stories should be better 'vetted'
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said Saturday that the NCAA will have a difficult time assessing who's telling the truth in its investigation of Ohio State's football program and allegations made by former Buckeyes star Maurice Clarett.

"This Clarett kid has got issues," Delany said before the Michigan-Ohio State game at Ohio Stadium. "Anybody who has seen this story unfold realizes that maybe Ohio State has issues too. That's going to be determined by the NCAA."

The latest round of allegations by Clarett, who led Ohio State to a national title in 2002 as a freshman, were reported by ESPN two weeks ago. Clarett said that coach Jim Tressel arranged for him to get a loaner car, that boosters gave players money, and that players received excessive pay for no-show summer jobs and were coddled by football-friendly professors.

Ohio State athletic director Geiger has denied the allegations point by point.

Delany said he was upset with ESPN -- a corporate partner of the Big Ten that holds broadcast contracts.

"The thing that I don't understand, you have statements which I think have been uncorroborated, not vetted," said Delany. "I'm looking for something other than just regurgitation of broad statements that were made, discredited and then remade."

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Saturday the network stands by the story, adding "this comes as a surprise because if the conference has an issue with us we would expect them to contact us directly."

Delany, who was an NCAA enforcement officer from 1975-79, cautioned that the NCAA will take its time to determine if Ohio State broke association bylaws.

"At the end of the day, the NCAA will decide whether NCAA violations occurred. Not Ohio State. Not Jim Delany. And not ESPN," Delany said.

An NCAA investigator visited Ohio State on Monday.

"I think the NCAA is going to have a hell of a job trying to figure out who's on first and who's on third," he said.



11/20/04
Commissioner says NCAA has hard job weeding through thicket of charges - ESPN •FB

Saturday, November 20, 2004
Commissioner says NCAA has hard job weeding through thicket of charges
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany believes the NCAA will have a difficult time uncovering the truth in its investigation of Ohio State's football program and accusations by former Buckeyes star Maurice Clarett.

"This Clarett kid has got issues," Delany said before Saturday's Michigan-Ohio State game. "Anybody who has seen this story unfold realizes that maybe Ohio State has issues, too. That's going to be determined by the NCAA."

The latest round of accusations by Clarett, who led Ohio State to a national title in 2002 as a freshman, were reported by ESPN two weeks ago. Clarett said coach Jim Tressel arranged for him to get a loaner car, that boosters gave players money, and that players received excessive pay for no-show summer jobs and were coddled by football-friendly professors.

Ohio State athletic director Geiger has denied the accusations.

Delany said he was upset with ESPN -- a corporate partner of the Big Ten that holds broadcast contracts.

"The thing that I don't understand, you have statements which I think have been uncorroborated, not vetted," Delany said. "I'm looking for something other than just regurgitation of broad statements that were made, discredited and then remade."

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Saturday the network stands by the story, adding "this comes as a surprise because if the conference has an issue with us we would expect them to contact us directly."

Delany, who was an NCAA enforcement officer from 1975-79, cautioned that the NCAA will take its time to determine if Ohio State broke association bylaws.

"At the end of the day, the NCAA will decide whether NCAA violations occurred. Not Ohio State. Not Jim Delany. And not ESPN," Delany said.

An NCAA investigator visited Ohio State on Monday.

"I think the NCAA is going to have a hell of a job trying to figure out who's on first and who's on third," he said.

Delany said the individual accusations against Ohio State and Tressel are "all potential tinderboxes."

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

 

[3yardsandacloud]

He said ... they said - 11/25 & 26/04

11/25/04 Articles:

Steve Snapp
http://www.dispatch.com/football/football.php?story=dispatch/2004/11/25/20041125-E1-05.html
Ohio State associate athletics director Steve Snapp said, ‘‘In my opinion, it’s another example of selective journalism on (ESPN’s) part and an attempt to run an unbalanced story."


He said ... they said - 11/26/04

11/26/04 Articles:

Various Compliance Directors and Faculty from OSU and around the country
http://www.dispatch.com/football/football.php?story=dispatch/2004/11/26/20041126-D1-00.html&chck=t
Gridders sport lighter class loads
Percent of football players in remedial classes is higher than other students at OSU
Friday, November 26, 2004
Kathy Lynn Gray - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

OSU football players are seven times as likely to be in remedial classes as the average student at Ohio State University’s main campus, an analysis of university information shows.

Although those classes count toward a player’s eligibility, they don’t count for graduation.

The classes have come under scrutiny in connection with accusations by former OSU tailback Maurice Clarett that he and other players got preferential treatment in the classroom.

Former player Sammy Maldonado told ESPN The Magazine that of the 57 credit hours he took in six quarters at OSU, more than a third were in remedial classes and wouldn’t transfer when he switched schools. He could not be reached for comment.

From 1998 to 2004, while about 1 percent to 4 percent of main-campus students were in remedial classes, the percentage of football players in the classes ranged from 6 percent to 25 percent.

On average, about 16 percent of the team’s players took remedial classes during those seven years, compared with about 2 percent of all students.

And while the overall number of students in remedial classes fell from 1998 to 2003 as OSU raised academic standards for incoming students, the number of football players in the classes fluctuated without following a particular trend.

OSU’s chief football rival, the University of Michigan, doesn’t offer remedial classes, a spokesman said.

Michigan’s football players have a higher graduation rate than OSU’s, NCAA statistics show. Among freshmen players who started school in 1997, 68 percent at Michigan and 53 percent at OSU graduated within six years. Among all students in that class, 85 percent at Michigan and 62 percent at OSU graduated in that time frame.

Ohio State Provost Barbara Snyder said students are placed in remedial classes, offered for math and English, based on placement tests.

She did not know why a larger percentage of football players were in remedial classes compared with all students. But she said admission officials consider special talents in areas such as sports, music or theater when deciding whether to admit a student.

"If you singled out another group, you might be able to find higher or lower numbers in remedial classes," she said.

The NCAA last week began investigating Clarett’s allegations that OSU boosters gave him money, that coach Jim Tressel helped him get loaner cars and that Tressel’s brother, Dick, arranged summer jobs for him that required little work. Clarett also said that tutors did his classwork for him and that he received passing grades despite rarely attending class.

University spokeswoman Elizabeth Conlisk said OSU is not doing its own investigation into the allegations at this time. After a previous controversy involving Clarett, Ohio State conducted an eight-week investigation that found no special treatment of student-athletes.

But David Ridpath, former compliance director at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., said academic perks for college athletes is a systemic problem.

"These things go on, they go on every day, and not just at OSU," he said. "I’ve been on the inside, and I know how corrupt it is. Our interest isn’t in graduating and educating these college athletes.

"We’re bringing these people in to run the ball, to score touchdowns and to win games. We do not care if Maurice Clarett graduates."

Ridpath, now assistant professor of sports administration at Mississippi State University, is associate director of the Drake Group, an organization of college professors working to improve academic integrity.

"I hate to see things like the Maurice Clarett stuff happen, but there is no way, based on my experience, that there isn’t a huge amount of truth in what he’s saying."

Linda Bensel-Meyers, director of the Drake Group, said the huge amount of money involved in sports such as football and colleges’ position as the middleman between highschool and professional teams cause problems.

"The whole thing is a sham to protect schools as a farm system for the NFL," said Bensel-Meyers, associate English professor at the University of Denver. She said the goal is to prepare athletes for the professional ranks as soon as they’re eligible, which for football players is three years out of high school.

Snyder denied that, saying OSU is not preparing any students for a professional career on the gridiron.

"We are preparing all of our students for life after graduation," either for a job or a professional program, she said.

Although some players embrace classes as well as football, some don’t, so colleges fight to keep them eligible to play by putting them in remedial classes or classes with "jockfriendly" professors, Bensel-Meyers said.

Other players are designated as learning-disabled, which gives them access to additional tutoring and help in and out of class.

NCAA rules require athletes to maintain a full-time class load to play sports.

Ohio State also requires that students maintain a 2.0 gradepoint average.

Although schools such as OSU don’t count remedial courses for credit toward graduation, the NCAA allows remedial classes to be used when calculating a student’s class load.

Steve Estes, associate professor of exercise and sports science at East Carolina University and a member of the Drake Group’s executive committee, said college instructors need to maintain high standards for athletes.

"If every professor holds every student to rigorous standards, the problems with athletics go away," he said. "As soon as the faulty get weak, the whole system is corrupted."

Sy Kleinman, a professor emeritus at OSU, suggested several years ago that there would be fewer problems with academic fraud and athletes if OSU offered a "performance arts" degree for playing sports.

"If they can major in theater or dance, why not major in sport performance?" Kleinman said. He pointed out that many athletes attend college only as a way to continue to play their sport.

Students would have to take required core courses, but could then major in what they do best: playing a sport.

Already, OSU athletes can get up to 10 hours of credit throughout their college career for playing a varsity sport. A maximum of four credits a year are allowed. Athletes’ work is graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory, so the hours are not factored into the student’s grade-point average and don’t count toward an athlete’s major.

OSU students need a minimum of 191 credit hours to graduate.

Students in other activities, such as theater, also can earn credit. They can receive up to 18 credit hours for performing or working backstage in a show, at two credits per show, and those apply toward their GPA and major.

[email protected]

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #17. Again a repackaged news story from ESPN. It directly references information from a Columbus Dispatch article and the Associated Press regarding cars Maurice Clarett was able to obtain while at OSU. I find it interesting the details ESPN chose to omit from the Dispatch article, so I'm including that article as well. It follows with a link at the bottom.



11/26/04
Traffic tickets provide list of people - ESPN •FB

Friday, November 26, 2004
Traffic tickets provide list of people
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett borrowed cars from relatives, friends and at least one car dealership while attending the university.

That's according to records surveyed by The Columbus Dispatch.

The vehicles that Clarett traveled in at Ohio State have become more of an issue since Clarett charged earlier this month that Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel and his staff helped players get loaner cars and also arranged other improper benefits.

Speeding tickets issued to Clarett during his 18 months as an Ohio State student indicate he borrowed cars from hometown friends and relatives. One of the tickets he received was for driving 98 miles per hour.

Clarett said in April 2003 that a 2001 Monte Carlo he had taken for an overnight test drive was broken into and someone took more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment.

That led to Clarett pleading guilty to failure to aid a law enforcement officer and an NCAA investigation that found that Clarett had an improper relationship with the car dealer who loaned him the Monte Carlo.



11/26/04
Clarett paid price when he drove borrowed vehicles - Columbus Dispatch•FB

Friday, November 26, 2004
Clarett paid price when he drove borrowed vehicles
Former OSU student racked up fines for six speeding tickets
Jill Riepenhoff - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Even before he graduated from high school, Maurice Clarett was cutting deals for cars.

In fall 2001, the former Ohio State University running back traded an 8-year-old Mercury Cougar for a 10-year-old Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer owned by one of his football coaches at Warren G. Harding High School.

"He always would joke with me that he wanted that truck," said Robert L. Andrews, who now coaches at Glenville High School in Cleveland.

The transaction, Andrews said, was legitimate. Andrews still is listed as the sport-utility vehicle’s owner, but it’s registered to Clarett’s mother, Michelle.

Clarett, 21, brought the SUV to Columbus in 2002. It’s one of many vehicles connected to the former Buckeye, who has said that Ohio State coaches and boosters helped him obtain loaner cars.

A string of speeding tickets — for driving as fast as 98 mph — issued to Clarett during his 1½- year tenure as an Ohio State student shows that he borrowed cars from hometown friends and relatives.

On March 9, 2002, Columbus police stopped Clarett on Kenny Road in the Explorer. About two months later, the State Highway Patrol pulled him over on I-71 near Mansfield. Clarett again was driving the Explorer.

On July 5, 2002, troopers clocked Clarett speeding on I-71 in Morrow County. He was driving a 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that belonged to an uncle in Youngstown.

Nearly a year later, troopers in Trumbull County pulled him over in a 1998 Oldsmobile Bravada that he borrowed from the owner of a now-bankrupt Youngstown wine shop.

Within three weeks, Chardon police stopped him on a rural Geauga County highway. Clarett was driving a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe that belonged to another uncle.

Then, last December, police in Linndale, in Cuyahoga County, nabbed him for speeding in a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo owned by a 20-year-old Youngstown neighborhood acquaintance.

Municipal court records obtained by The Dispatch, however, do not explain why or how long Clarett was driving the cars or, in two cases, whether the owner of the vehicle was with him. The former wine-shop owner and the 20-year-old friend could not be reached for comment.

Attempts by The Dispatch to reach Clarett by phone, through relatives and at Columbus residences where he sometimes stays were unsuccessful.

Clarett’s car-borrowing habits caught the attention of Ohio State officials as early as fall 2002.

"He borrowed lots of cars from friends. They checked out pretty well," Athletics Director Andy Geiger said.

The issue seemed moot until Clarett reported in April 2003 that someone broke into a 2001 Monte Carlo he had taken for an overnight test drive and stole $6,165 worth of cash, clothing and hundreds of compact discs.

He later admitted that he inflated the value of the items stolen from the vehicle, parked at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

The theft report ultimately led to an NCAA investigation that found that Clarett, among other things, had an improper relationship with the car dealer who loaned him the Monte Carlo.

Jacob Chapa, owner of the Car Store on Morse Road, had given the car to Clarett for a test drive. Clarett has said that Ohio State coaches helped him receive free use of dealer cars.

But Chapa does not have any apparent connection to Ohio State. He is neither a booster nor a season-ticket holder, unlike the 64 automotive dealers who provide free use of cars to athletics department staff members.

Clarett’s relationship with Chapa’s dealership has flourished. The dealership bought a car in July 2003 once registered to Clarett’s mother. In April, she bought a 2000 Lincoln Navigator from the Car Store.

Chapa could not be reached by telephone or at his dealership for comment.

Clarett also borrowed a car from a Marion dealership that provides free use of cars to three Ohio State athletics department staff members, including football coach Jim Tressel. In return for providing free use of the cars to staff members, the dealer is given the opportunity to buy four choice seats to every home football game.

Except for the one provided by Chapa, Ohio State officials have not been able to link Clarett to any questionable cars, Geiger said.

" ‘Reese’ is a lot of show," said his former coach Andrews, who refers to Clarett by his hometown nickname. "He wanted a stage for people to pay attention to him."

He used the cars as his props, subtly teasing acquaintances and friends from Youngtown’s rough-and-tumble south side that he had hit the big time in the capital city, Andrews said.

"He was the type of guy who would borrow a guy’s car and act like it was his," Andrews said. "If someone would say, ‘Hey, Reese got a new car,’ he loved that. He wanted that image."

On trips home during his freshman year of college, Clarett often drove borrowed cars, Andrews said.

He recalled seeing Clarett once in a Lexus. Andrews didn’t know who the car belonged to and didn’t ask because he figured that Clarett had come by the car honestly.

He had. The Lexus belonged to an uncle, Eddie Thomas, who owns a condo in Columbus but lives in Youngstown.

Thomas says his nephew is being truthful when he says that Ohio State coaches had a hand in providing him access to loaner cars.

Clarett sometimes stayed with his uncle in his Columbus condominium. Until last week, Thomas refused to talk publicly about his nephew.

"All you hear is that he’s about money. He’s about football, and he’s not that kind of kid," Thomas said. "What he is telling you is true."

[email protected]

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds

ESPN article #18. Again a repackaged news story from ESPN. Following a noticeable trend, ESPN's coverage of any opinion detailing OSU's side of the Maurice Clarett story is repackaged information from other news agencies. This articles is particularly troubling as it simple restates much of a previous ESPN article regarding 3 former OSU players Fred Pagac Jr., Jack Tucker, and Drew Carter. So much for balanced or fair reporting. Not once has ESPN done any hard reporting regarding the OSU position on the Maurice Clarett saga. All they ever offer is repackaged news that is edited with a bias to ESPN's position, then sprinkled with quotes from their previous stories to further slant the article with bias against OSU. Detailed at the bottom is the Cleveland Plain Dealer article that ESPN references in its 'news services" report.



11/26/04
AD says university did nothing wrong - ESPN •FB

Friday, November 26, 2004
AD says university did nothing wrong
ESPN.com news services

Ohio State wants to interview former players who have corroborated Maurice Clarett's allegations of improprieties within the football program.

The son of a former Buckeyes assistant coach, an Academic All-Big Ten selection and a current NFL player spoke to ESPN about tutors doing classwork for members of the team and of a booster culture that spawned "$100 handshakes" and high-paying, low-effort summer jobs.

Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he is not concerned by the latest allegations.

"If these guys cheated, then that's an issue for internal review within the university," Geiger said in an interview Thursday night. "... I read the story [story that first appeared Wednesday on ESPN.com] carefully. There was not a single allegation of wrongdoing on the part of the university, that I saw."

Former Buckeyes linebacker Fred Pagac Jr., whose father Fred Sr. was an assistant coach at Ohio State for 19 years, told ESPN, "There are always people who will help you and cross the line. I've personally seen it happen. You had tutors who if you asked them for help writing a paper they'd end up writing it. You'd go in and ask help about specifics, and then it would end up getting written."

Jack Tucker, an Academic All-Big Ten selection at fullback, also believes tutors complete homework for football players. "Absolutely," he says. "For someone to think it doesn't [happen], they're crazy."

Former wide receiver Drew Carter, now with the Carolina Panthers, describes a culture in which football players would find a "hook-up" -- a tutor who does their homework for them or a booster who provides an easy, high-paying job -- and pass the information to their teammates. "Someone would be like, 'Man I got a paper due' and teammates would be like, 'Go to this guy,' " Carter says. "He'd write out a rough draft and say, 'Here, do it for yourself.' "

Geiger, however, told the Plain Dealer that his review of the claims showed no wrongdoing by the university.

"There certainly is no allegation that any of whatever they claim they did or was done for others was arranged by us," Geiger told the newspaper. "I didn't see anything to worry about."

Geiger previously described previous players who backed Clarett's allegations as "colossal failures."

That statement, in part, motivated Carter to speak out.

"That's why Ohio State is being afraid -- because if other people, legit people, like Freddie and Jack and myself, say stuff, then they'll be like, 'Oh no.' "



11/26/04
Geiger: No violation on OSU's end - Cleveland Plain Dealer •FB

Friday, November 26, 2004
Geiger: No violation on OSU's end
Bruce Hooley - Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus - Ohio State will seek to interview three former players who completed their football careers on good terms and have corroborated to ESPN.com some of the NCAA violations alleged by former running back Maurice Clarett two weeks ago.
*
OSU Athletic Director Andy Geiger said Thursday night that his careful reading of the latest charges did not cause him concern because the school did not plan or sanction the indiscretions charged by Drew Carter, Fred Pagac Jr. and Jack Tucker.

"There certainly is no allegation that any of whatever they claim they did or was done for others was arranged by us," Geiger said. "I didn't see anything to worry about."

Carter, Pagac and Tucker were all members of OSU's national championship team in 2002, when Clarett played his only season and alleges he was given favorable academic treatment, cash by boosters and a high-paying, low-effort summer job.

Unlike the previous players to back Clarett's story, Carter, Pagac and Tucker did not encounter academic difficulty at OSU and completed their playing eligibility.

Asked whether that caused him greater concern, Geiger said: "Not really. We will try to interview these guys. We'll encourage the NCAA to if they wish. We'll help them with that, and they'll help us. We have no fear. We've never backed away from trying to do it the right way."

Geiger and Ohio State coach Jim Tressel have been skeptical of the previous players to support Clarett, charging each harbored ill feelings against the school for failing to complete their careers.

Geiger termed those players - Curtis Crosby, Fred Stirrup, Marco Cooper and B.J. Barre - "colossal failures."

Carter, who graduated from Solon High School, said that motivated him to come forward.

"Those are good guys who made some mistakes," Carter told ESPN.com. "But I don't think they're colossal failures. They're my friends, we went through it all together. If guys like Freddie and Jack and me went through it and didn't get in trouble and did everything right, but still, you know, got some perks because of it, are you gonna call us colossal failures, too?

"That's why Ohio State is being afraid - because if other people, legit people, like Freddie and Jack and myself, say stuff, then they'll be like, 'Oh no.' "

Pagac, whose father Fred Sr., played for OSU and was an assistant for 19 years until 2001, told ESPN.com that football-friendly tutors did school work for players.

Carter, currently on the physically unable to perform list with the Carolina Panthers, told ESPN.com that "hook-ups" would steer players to high-paying summer jobs that required little work.

"A fan or an [alumnus], that's the hook-up," ESPN.com quoted Carter. "You go up to the guy through a friend; you don't even know him. It wasn't like, 'Oh, I need an easy job this summer, Coach.' Not like that at all. Somebody on the team has a job and you ask them, 'Is it hard?' And they say no and you say, 'OK, I'm gonna try and get on it.' "

"You get a paycheck, $1,000 or something like that. It wasn't under the table; my job had my Social Security number and everything. But you still got paid quite a bit of money for sweeping, cleaning up stuff, doing like very, very light work. What you would call nonstrenuous work."

Geiger said that scenario, if true, would "not necessarily" mean OSU committed NCAA violations because the school did not orchestrate the violation.

Geiger said if Tucker, Carter or Pagac benefited from tutors doing their class work, that could affect their degrees, but would "not at all" impact Ohio State athletics.

"If these guys cheated, then that's an issue for internal review within the university," Geiger said. ". . . I read the [ESPN.com] story carefully. There was not a single allegation of wrongdoing on the part of the university, that I saw.

"It was kind of like a fraternity having a file of tests, which has gone on at colleges and universities for 100 years. 'I know a guy who knows a guy.' I don't condone that. I'm not happy about it. But it seems to me they were talking about themselves, and that's disappointing."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4748

 

[3yardsandacloud]

Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds - Related Article

Related article from the Columbus Dispatch. Seems 2 of the 3 former Buckeyes interviewed by ESPN for their latest article think that ESPN misquoted and/or mislead and/or misrepresented them. Go figure. Seems to be a recurring theme for ESPN.


11/27/04
Pagac says ESPN exaggerated his comments - Columbus Dispatch •FB

Saturday, November 27, 2004
Pagac says ESPN exaggerated his comments
Ex-player says he didn’t support Clarett’s claims
Tim May - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Former Ohio State linebacker Fred Pagac Jr. was shocked to see in a story this week on ESPN.com that his comments were portrayed as corroborating earlier allegations by Maurice Clarett of improper conduct by coaches and administrators at the university.

"Whoever wrote that kind of made it seem like we were trying to bring the program down, and the coaches down; I think the caption was we were supporting Clarett’s allegations," Pagac said yesterday. "That’s not true at all.

"I had no comment on summer jobs, and money, and cars, and all that kind of stuff. And (the reporter) asked me about tutors and I pretty much made a comment about tutors in general; students, people helping out other people to get stuff done."

Tutors aren’t affiliated with the school.

"I wasn’t trying to support any allegations about tutors helping out football players to get through school and all that kind of stuff," Pagac said.

Former receiver Drew Carter also talked with ESPN. The story indicated that he not only got illicit academic help but that he and fellow players would help other players "hook up" with the right people to aid them, too.

"I just wanted to clarify that no tutor ever did my work," said Carter, who is with the Carolina Panthers and is currently rehabilitating a knee injury. "I worked hard. I worked hard for everything, and I’ve always done that.

"I’m mad that even came out. I can’t speak for my teammates, but I know what I did."

Carter refused to comment on other parts of the story, which indicated he also supported Clarett’s allegations of easy-money summer jobs, or that he was speaking out because athletics director Andy Geiger had referred to other former players who had been used by ESPN for corroboration as "colossal failures."

"I just want to stay away from talking about it any more because I’m mad at myself," Carter said. "I usually only speak for me."

If there were any illicit academic help being given players, Geiger has said recently, it was of their own volition. In the wake of a New York Times article the summer of 2003 that alleged preferential academic treatment for athletes by the school, Ohio State spent at least $100,000 on an in-house committee investigation, the results of which cleared it of wrongdoing.

"We are confident that the findings by that committee were accurate," athletics department spokesman Steve Snapp said yesterday.

Clarett, a running back on the 2002 national championship team, was suspended by the school in 2003 after an NCAA investigation into his amateur standing. Along with the allegations of academic misconduct, he said in an ESPN The Magazine article this month that coach Jim Tressel helped him get loaner cars, that other OSU coaches helped him find part-time jobs that required little or no work, and that he was given money by program boosters.

Pagac said he didn’t know what to make of it all.

"I couldn’t really tell if Maurice was telling the truth or not," he said. "But obviously I think coach Tressel is a standup guy, and I just have a hard time believing he would let that kind of stuff happen."

[email protected]

 

[3yardsandacloud]

Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds - Related Article

Related article from the Canton Repository. News on this subject has been slow for the past week or so, but the rumor mill has been hot. Since I'm only documenting verifiable sources with links, I'll give you the quick rumor run down. Rumor had it that OSU was in contact with Utah head coach Urban Meyer. Seems someone (AD, booster, etc.) had conversations with UM about a possible opening in the OSU job. This lead to rampant speculation about the job security of Jim Tressel and Andy Geiger and even more rumors about who inside the OSU program might have it "in" for either or both of those men. The rumor has since died as UM took the HC position at Florida. Popular theory now is that UM was the one to contact OSU to inquire if the HC position might open up in the near future. Seems this might well be the case as UM would have killed several birds with one stone. He could have found out IF indeed his dream job would be open (at OSU) and at the same time increased pressure on both Notre Dame and Florida to engage in a bidding war for his services as head coach. This latest article (Canton Repository) is another bombshell, only this time it favors OSU. Seems Maurice is up to his old tricks. Will anyone ever really know the truth about this young man?


12/07/04
OSU, Clarett have been in touch - Canton Repository •FB

Tuesday, December 7, 2004
OSU, Clarett have been in touch
By TODD PORTER Repository sports writer - Canton Repository

Even as Ohio State begins to prepare for the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, there is a sense among some close Buckeye observers they are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Again.

As has been the case since he was suspended from Ohio State last season, former running back Maurice Clarett and ESPN The Magazine may not be finished with the Clarett scandal that rocked OSU a year after winning the national title.

Rumors have circulated for the last 10 days that Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel and/or Athletics Director Andy Geiger are on the hot seat and in jeopardy of losing their jobs. Geiger told The Repository on Monday there was no truth to that rumor — although he, too, has heard it.

“I just spent all day in Bricker Hall (OSU’s administrative offices) today and no one there seems to know anything about it,” Geiger said. “There is no truth to that whatsoever.”

Word is that Clarett recently tried to patch things up with Ohio State. He supposedly called Geiger to say he was willing to apologize and admit he fabricated most of what he told ESPN The Magazine. In turn he wanted OSU officials to issue public statements of support in order to help his reputation for April’s NFL Draft.

Ohio State supposedly declined the offer.

Geiger did not deny that such a scenario took place.

“There is always communication,” Geiger said when asked if he received a call from Clarett to patch up the relationship. “Beyond that, I cannot elaborate.”

If Clarett would rescind what he told ESPN The Magazine, it could lend credence to Ohio State’s assertion that the publication sought to tarnish the Buckeye football program.

Following Sunday’s Browns-Patriots game, Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown spoke to the media in Cleveland’s locker room. Brown was an adviser to Clarett during the NCAA investigation, but seems to have distanced himself from the Warren Harding graduate.

Asked what he made of Clarett’s recent comments about Ohio State, Brown shrugged his shoulders. Clarett told ESPN The Magazine that Tressel set him up with boosters who made sure he had money in his pocket and a car to drive. He also alleged tutors did class work for players.

Ohio State’s athletic department and football program were cleared of any wrongdoing in a months-long investigation by the NCAA after Clarett was suspended.

Brown saved his harshest criticism for Clarett and Geiger, and praised the job Tressel has done. Essentially, Brown said Clarett should have kept his mouth shut and not gone to ESPN The Magazine with the story.

“I think the whole thing is a tragic affair,” Brown said. “I think Geiger handled things improperly from the start. But I also think Maurice talked about things he should not have talked about. It’s a tragedy for everybody. Jim Tressel is a good man. He’s been my friend for a long time. I hope nothing happens to damage his reputation, and I hope Maurice can play in the NFL.”

Asked if he thought Tressel would break NCAA rules for Clarett, Brown did not address the question.

“I don’t get into that,” said Brown, who has publicly criticized the NCAA in the past. “I don’t know what the NCAA rules are anyway. I think their rules are ridiculous, so I can’t get into that.”

You can reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail:

[email protected]

 

[BB73]

At least Jim Brown didn't say too much this time.

If such a deal was offered, Geiger was clearly right to decline it. Why make a deal to stop somebody from lying? Stay on the high road, AG.

 

[JCOSU86]

Unless he wasn't lying and is willing to lie now to smooth his route to the NFL.

I don't believe that is the case.

He is a piece of work.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds - Related Article

Related article from the Canton Repository. It deals with the same basic story as before.


12/08/04
Analysis: Clarett is taking his only option left - Canton Repository •FB

Tuesday, December 8, 2004
Analysis: Clarett is taking his only option left
By TODD PORTER Repository sports writer - Canton Repository

At this rate, nothing surprises Andy Geiger. The Ohio State athletics director has watched his department, and specifically his football program, get raked over the coals not once, but twice because of Maurice Clarett.

The first time, NCAA investigators came to Columbus and looked into just about every nook and cranny where Clarett could have left his muddy footprints. Ohio State was cleared.

Lo and behold, Geiger found himself practically begging the NCAA to come to Columbus again to examine most of the same allegations. That was last month after Clarett spoke with ESPN The Magazine.

That is when Clarett opened his heart to lift the burden he had been keeping inside him all these months: Ohio State cheated, he said, to keep him happy, putting money in his pockets and giving him a car to drive.

The magazine painted Clarett as a down-on-his-luck schmuck who rode out on a bus, leaving Columbus behind in a trail of diesel fumes. A close friend of Clarett’s told us the running back called him from an airport when he arrived in California.

That aside, let’s assume Clarett’s story is true. Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel arranged for him to be paid by boosters, to drive loaner cars and have tutors do his class work.

So why then would Tressel, who Clarett said was behind most of the NCAA rule breaking, not do everything to keep Clarett both happy and quiet?

If Tressel was arranging for a car from a dealership, why was that car repossessed in less than a week? It would only make sense, if in fact Tressel was a rogue coach, that he would shower his star tailback with more gifts, money and cars, not throw him under the heavy NCAA bus.

Clarett said half the Ohio State team received illegal benefits. Mike Doss and Dustin Fox, two Stark County graduates and starters on the national title team, have said that is untrue. If half the team was receiving benefits, why did Ohio State leave its best player out to dry?

Calls came into The Repository from the Dan Patrick radio show and Kirk Herbstreit’s show in Columbus to talk about Tuesday’s story. The news was that someone representing Clarett contacted Ohio State with an offer to patch the relationship.

The rumor of this call had circulated for some time. Former Clarett adviser and Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown was asked Sunday if there was any contact between Clarett and Ohio State. He smiled and walked away with a look that said he might know something.

So the question was put to Geiger: Did Clarett, or a representative of Clarett, call Ohio State and offer to rescind his allegations in ESPN The Magazine, and in exchange Ohio State officials would talk nice of the young man from the bad part of Youngstown?

Geiger didn’t deny the specific situation. He said communication has taken place, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

Fine.

Ohio State, we’re told, said thanks but no thanks. The university wasn’t about to be blackmailed. Ohio State must be pretty confident it will be cleared — again — of any wrongdoing as it relates to Clarett and the football program.

It is peculiar that the only people Clarett implicated by name were Tressel and his brother, assistant Coach Dick Tressel. Clarett said boosters gave him money, but referred to those boosters in the ESPN story as “Mr. Such-and-such.”

You must be wondering: What good would it serve Clarett now to make up with Ohio State and clear his name.

Think about it. How much more damage can he possibly do to his reputation? The ESPN story didn’t help Clarett with NFL general managers like he thought it would. If anything, the message NFL teams got was why draft this kid if he throws the whole team under the bus?

But by rescinding his allegations, NFL teams might look at it as a sign of maturity. The kid is correcting a mistake.

At this point, Ohio State can’t trust him. He was the key cog in the Buckeyes’ national championship two years ago. But the school, and Tressel, are paying one helluva price now.

Tressel knew Clarett came with baggage. He just never thought he’d be zipped up inside it.

In matters of Clarett, nothing should surprise anyone again.

You can reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail:

[email protected]

 

[Buckeye513]

I don't know if this has been posted before. Please tell me if it has.
This is a side article in ESPN The Magazine.

Bruised Buckeyes
So maybe Maurice Clarett did turn pro his freshman year. He says it would have been his and Jim Tressel's little secret. That no one had to know about the $1,000 handshakes from boosters, he claims, or the lucrative jobs watching grass grow. He figured he'd spend this year quietly getting ready for the NFL draft. But then Ohio State started talking. The way Mo heard it, the school told NFL teams not to pick him. That's why he squawked about free cars, free grades, and free cash. The Buckeyes messed with him; he messed with the Buckeyes. Now the NCAA will settle it

 

[3yardsandacloud]

The Maurice Clarett Saga Unfolds - Related Article

Related article from the Warren Tribune Chronicle. Former Youngstown State players speak on behalf of Jim Tressel.


12/12/04
Former YSU players don't believe Clarett's story - Warren Tribune Chronicle •FB

Sunday, December 12, 2004
Former YSU players don't believe Clarett's story
By ED PUSKAS Tribune Chronicle Assistant Sports Editor

MATT Richardson is still rooting for Maurice Clarett to make it in the National Football League.
But Richardson, Clarett's position coach at Warren G. Harding High School in 2001, isn't buying the stories the former Ohio State tailback told "ESPN: The Magazine.''

"I don't know much about Ohio State, but I know Jim Tressel,'' said Richardson, the starting fullback on Tressel's last Division I-AA national championship team in 1997.

"The things being said about him don't make sense. I know what type of guy he is. He would never let one person dictate what happens with his team. He's a team guy. He's one of the greatest human beings I've ever met.''

If Clarett is to be believed, he was compensated handsomely for helping Ohio State win a national championship two years ago.

Money. Cars. Women. Clarett told "ESPN: The Magazine'' he had access to all three thanks to his impact on the Buckeyes' football program as a true freshman in 2002.

Class? Purely optional in Maurice's world, again if Ohio's Mr. Football for 2001 is to be believed.

Clarett said most of the extra benefits came with the blessing of Tressel and others within the football program and in the university's athletic administration.

Richardson and several other former YSU football players have come out in defense of Tressel, a man it once seemed would never need anyone to watch his back. Tressel became a god of sorts in Youngstown, where his Penguins won four Division I-AA national championships, played in two other national title games and made the playoffs 10 times in his 15 years at YSU.

Richardson, 28, played at YSU from 1995-98. He says he wasn't surprised when Tressel coached Ohio State to a 14-0 season and a national championship in just his second season in Columbus.

"When you have the right person leading and the right people following the person who is leading, that's what can happen,'' said Richardson, a Warren native and John F. Kennedy High School graduate who teaches and coaches at Harding.

Pete Superak, 27, is another former YSU player who dismisses the notion that Tressel runs a renegade program at Ohio State and did much the same with the Penguins. Superak, a product manager for Parker-Hannifin in Wickliffe, is a Warren native and, like Clarett, a Harding graduate.

Superak, who played at YSU from 1995-99, is back living in Warren and commuting to Wickliffe after spending three years with Parker-Hannifin in Chicago. The former YSU tight end telephoned a Tribune Chronicle sportswriter recently in an attempt to answer the charges Clarett made in ESPN: The Magazine.

"I could have just sat here and said nothing,'' Superak said. "But in certain situations, you can't just say nothing and let it fly by. You have to step up and air out what the real side of (Tressel) is.''

Superak, like Richardson, is unabashed in his admiration of his college coach.

"I was never in my life around a guy who consistently did the right thing like Jim Tressel did,'' he said. "The guy consistently always did the right thing. ... You have to understand who you're making these accusations against. Coach Tressel is the straightest arrow I've ever met in my life.''

Shawn Billker, 28, was a YSU offensive lineman from 1995-99. Billker, now a teacher and freshman football coach at North Canton Hoover, said Clarett's allegations have come up in conversations with former teammates.

"Every time another accusation comes out, it just makes us laugh,'' he said. "While Ohio State is getting smeared and Coach Tressel is getting smeared, from being on the inside of his program at Youngstown State, I have a tough time believing these accusations.

"I'm an ESPN: The Magazine subscriber,'' Billker said. "I'm disappointed about the fact the article was written. Those allegations of wrongdoing at Youngstown State ... I can honestly say I never saw anything like that and I would never expect anything like that happening on Coach Tressel's watch.''

Talk to some of Tressel's former players and it's clear they don't stop at simply not believing Clarett and ex-Buckeyes like Marco Cooper and Sammy Maldonado, who spoke to "ESPN: The Magazine".

They appear deeply offended.

"I feel like those guys are finished, so now they're trying to pull people down with them,'' said Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Russell Stuvaints, who played at YSU from 1999-2002. "It hurts my feelings that all those accusations are coming out against Tressel.''

Stuvaints, 24, said Tressel had a good handle on most everything that happened within YSU's football program.

"He knew everything that was going on and if anything wrong was taking place, he put a stop to it,'' Stuvaints said.

Superak said it is inconceivable that Tressel would allow one player - Clarett in this instance - to operate outside the rules that apply to every other Ohio State player. Superak said that just didn't happen at YSU.

"It didn't matter if you were a player on the scout team or the starting quarterback - you were held to the same standards,'' he said. "I've seen him bench the starting quarterback and running back for missing meetings.''

Superak theorizes that Clarett's relationship with Tressel and his standing within Ohio State's football program began to erode when news of the running back's behavior came to light and the coach tried to discipline the player.

"This is what upsets me about Clarett,'' Superak said. "The guy has all the God-given talent in the world, but the first time someone tells that kid 'No' and stuck up for what was right, he tries to drag them through the mud.

"This was the first time a guy was able to say 'No' to Clarett. All the people in his past weren't willing to do that because of his talent. I know that's what happened.''

Billker said Tressel always made a point of stressing the importance of NCAA regulations.

"He was constantly reminding us, 'This is what you can do, this is what you can't do, this is who you can accept something from and this who you can't accept something from,' '' Billker said. "If they're doing that at Youngstown State, you can bet they're doing that even more at a place like Ohio State.

"I have a tough time swallowing the allegations that are being made. I know what kind of program coach Tressel runs and what kind of person he is and what kind of people his coaches are. I have a hard time believing he would let that kind of stuff happen.''

Mike Peterson, 38, was a junior linebacker at YSU in 1986 when Tressel was hired to replace the late Bill Narduzzi as the Penguins coach. He finished his college football career under Tressel and remains a staunch supporter.

"Jim Tressel showed me how to be a winner,'' said Peterson, a graduate of Warren's Western Reserve High School. "I sit in a Fortune 500 company as a senior manager and he's the reason. He sat me down and told me that we would graduate or we wouldn't play at YSU.

"He develops the individual. Winning is a byproduct of having a winning person on the sideline. He requires his athletes to be respectful.''

Peterson didn't mince words.

"I'm offended by what Clarett said,'' Peterson said.

Richardson, however, admits he is torn by the apparent friction between two people - Clarett and Tressel - he knows so well.

"It's hard for me,'' Richardson said. "I love the kid, but when you put your integrity against Coach Tressel's, you can't win. ... I just know it has to be hard on Coach Tressel, too, because he's not the the type of person that he has been portrayed in some of those stories. He's one of the greatest human beings I've ever met.''

That's why Superak says Tressel and Ohio State will be exonerated after the NCAA re-examines the Clarett situation.

"There's not even a grain of salt to it,'' he said. "It's so far from the truth. Tressel is such a straight arrow. When he'd go out, he'd drink O'Doul's. When he would swear, he'd say, 'Sugar!' It would be, 'Superak! Sugar!' And we'd know he was really p----- off.

"In my five years, I might have heard him swear twice.''

That's two more times than Stuvaints can remember.

"Tressel is such a good guy,'' he said. "I never heard him curse. ... There is no way I believe anything about what those guys say about coach Tressel and Ohio State.''

Even as Tressel's former players rush to his defense, most of them acknowledge the ability and potential Clarett had and hope he can put the last two years behind him and move on to a productive NFL career.

Billker said he agrees with McDaniels, who has said that Clarett has received bad advice from some people in his inner circle.

"I only wish him the best,'' Billker said. "I'd like to see him do well in the NFL.''

So does Richardson.

"I've got a lot of love for Maurice,'' he said. "I remember the kid I coached. I hope he can overcome all of this, but it's going to be a tough road.''

No matter what the future holds for all of the principals involved in Clarett's short-lived stay in Columbus, Billker said one thing is clear.

"Maurice is going to be forever linked to Ohio State, maybe not as a great running back who helped them win a national championship, but as a running back who was involved in a lot of trouble,'' Billker said. "It's a shame, because he had the speed, leg drive and desire to be great. All those things together are tough things to find in a running back. He had it all.''

And then Billker expressed a sentiment perhaps universal among those who know Clarett, Tressel or both men.

"I kind of wish none of this would have ever happened,'' he said.

[email protected]

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sports Editor Dave Burcham and sportswriter Jim Visingardi contributed to this story

 

[Holy Buckeye!]

Clarrett to compete in All-Star challenge

Just read this over on Espin.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1974495

Made me laugh.


Enjoy,

HB

 

[OilerBuck]

Terrible move on Maurice's part. Aside from power, he deosn't provide jaw dropping measurables. His best qualities were always defined on the field (vision, competitiveness). He would be better off playing in a game, not trying to out-drill the best guys in the game today.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Terrible move on Maurice's part. Aside from power, he deosn't provide jaw dropping measurables. His best qualities were always defined on the field (vision, competitiveness). He would be better off playing in a game, not trying to out-drill the best guys in the game today.

could not have said it better