Does it look like Maurice Clarett will be trying to be reinstated in the NFL anytime soon?”
– Former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett has withdrawn a request for early release from prison that he said would allow him to pursue an NFL career. Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Culp said Wednesday that a letter from Clarett explaining his decision arrived at the Ohio Parole Board on Monday. Clarett had argued that the sooner he was released, the sooner he could make a comeback, possibly in the NFL. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien objected, saying the former Buckeyes standout hadn’t made a strong case to be released so early in his prison term. Clarett was sentenced in September 2006 to serve at least 3 1/2 years for a holdup outside a Columbus bar and a separate highway chase earlier that year. He could still be out as early as March.
U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, Thursday, ruled in favor of suspended Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett in his lawsuit against the NFL, which contended that the controversial tailback was being unfairly kept out of the NFL. The ruling allows him the option of entering the 2004 NFL Draft if he chooses to do so. Under the NFL’s rule, he would not have been eligible until 2005. The ruling concluded that the NFL rule prohibiting players from being drafted until they have been out of high school for three years violates antitrust laws because the policy excludes all players in Clarett’s position from selling their services to the only viable buyer. The NFL has announced they plan to appeal the judge’s decision. Clarett sued the NFL in late September after being suspended from Ohio State for a number of issues, including violating NCAA bylaws and lying to investigators about the value of items stolen from a car he was using. The university has since agreed to allow Clarett to
When last we checked in on Maurice Clarett, the ex-Ohio State star turned convicted felon had appealed to the governor of Ohio for early release on a seven-year sentence for robbery and gun charges. Clarett has been in prison since 2006 and, though his sentence extends through February 2014, a plea deal reduced his time to three-and-a-half years with good behavior. On that timeline, he could be out by the end of 2010. It looks like Clarett will serving all of that, too, as he withdrew his request for clemency earlier this week: Clarett had argued that the sooner he was released, the sooner he could make a comeback, possibly in the NFL. But he sent a letter Monday to the Ohio Parole Board explaining his decision to withdraw the request, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman JoEllen Culp said Wednesday.
