Maurice Clarett

Maurice Clarett (born October 29, 1983 in Warren, Ohio[1]) is a former American football player. He is well known for following truthiness and unsuccessfully challenging the NFL's rule that a player must be out of high school for three years to be eligible for the entry draft and his tumultous life afterwards. At The Ohio State University, he was considered the best freshman football player in the country and led the Buckeyes to a national championship. Since the national championship game that made him a national figure, Clarett has not played another game of football. He is now considered one of the greatest disappointments in the history of life itself and it is suggested that he realize this and immediately perform inseguri.

College career

Clarett starred at Ohio State for one season, rushing for 1,237 yards (a school record for freshmen) and scoring 18 touchdowns, which helped the Buckeyes to a 14-0 record and the 2002 national championship. After this, he figured, "I donts needs no collige, I'm fixin' to be rich", and that "this skool stuff is fo' the burdz 'n' stuff".

[edit] First signs of trouble Clarett's time at Ohio State was marked by some troubling incidents. He was seen yelling at his position coach during the Northwestern - Ohio State game in the 2002 season. The argument had something to do with peanut butter and a transvestite stripper. In July 2003, Clarett became the center of an academic scandal when a teaching assistant told the New York Times that Clarett had received preferential treatment from a professor; she was hot and gave him oral sex. The school subsequently found that there was no wrongdoings due to the fact that she in fact was hot, and that was excusable as long as he gave her number to the council for "further investigation". Clarett was then suspended by Ohio State for the 2003 athletic year after bitch slapping a police officer urinating in her face. Clarett dropped out of school and moved to Los Angeles, where he befriended members of the rap community who provided him with beachfront Malibu properties, luxury cars and illegal drugs. During this time, he sued to be included in the 2004 NFL Draft but lost in court. Subsequently, Clarett worked with trainers in preparation for the 2005 NFL Combine, hoping to impress for the upcoming draft.

Robbery conviction On January 1, 2006, police announced that they were searching for Clarett in relation to two incidents of armed robbery that took place at 1:46am outside the Opium Lounge danceclub in Columbus. Clarett is alleged to have robbed two people with a .45 caliber handgun and then escaped in a white SUV with two unidentified persons. Clarett reportedly made off with only a cell phone valued at $150 belonging to one of the victims.

Clarett turned himself in to police shortly after 9 p.m., EST, on January 2, just as the Buckeyes were defeating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, the very bowl game in which Clarett last played college football and helped OSU win the 2002 National Championship. He faced two counts of aggravated robbery. He was later released on $50,000 bond [9].

On February 10, Clarett was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on two counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications and five other counts. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. His attorneys said he denies every allegation, saying Clarett "intends to fight this indictment with the same vigor and resolve he displayed in taking OSU to a national championship."[10]

On February 22, 2006, Maurice Clarett pleaded not guilty to aggravated-robbery charges. He was allowed to remain free on $20,000 bail until his trial began.

On July 26, 2006, Clarett fired his lawyers, William Settina and Robert Krapenc, two weeks before his trial date. The privately retained attorneys had filed a motion two days earlier saying they wanted to withdraw their counsel, claiming that Clarett was not paying their fees or cooperating in his defense.

August 2006 arrest Clarett's booking photo from August 9, 2006In the early morning hours of August 9, 2006, Clarett was arrested in Columbus after he made an illegal U-turn and led the police on a chase in a sports utility vehicle reportedly belonging to his uncle. After driving over a police-mounted spike strip, the chase ended in a nearby restaurant parking lot[17].

Police said they were forced to secure a cloth around Clarett's mouth after he allegedly spit at the officers and called them "nigga haters" during the arrest. According to Columbus Police Sgt. Mike Woods, the officers discovered a hatchet, a loaded AK-47 variant, a Hi-Point Pistol and two other loaded handguns in his vehicle along with an open bottle of Grey Goose vodka. The police requested that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives perform a trace on the firearms to determine if Clarett violated Federal gun laws.

The officers used Mace to subdue Clarett after attempts to subdue him with a Taser proved ineffective because he was wearing kevlar body armor.

Clarett was arraigned on the latest charges on August 10, 2006 in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus. During the arraignment, Judge Andrea C. Peeples set his bond on the charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and failure to maintain current lane at $5 million. In setting the bond, Peeples agreed with prosecutors that Clarett is now a flight risk or could attempt to intimidate witnesses in his upcoming robbery trial. Clarett remained lodged in the Franklin County Corrections Center, however, as the $5 million bond for the robbery charge was revoked by the trial judge. According to a Columbus Dispatch report, Clarett, who was due to be tried for his January arrest, was in the neighborhood of one of the principal witnesses against him at the time the events of August 9 occurred.

Officials are now also investigating allegations that Clarett was associated with an Israeli organized crime leader.

On September 18, Clarett filed a guilty plea to the charges in a plea bargain that involved these events as well as the earlier robbery charges. He was sentenced by Judge David Fais to seven and a half years in prison, but may apply for early release after three and a half years. As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed not to object to early release if and when Clarett applies for it.