Missing lifelong friend's funeral angers Clarett

[Todd]

Missing lifelong friend's funeral angers Clarett

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press



PHOENIX -- Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett said Monday that he missed the funeral of a lifelong friend because school officials never answered his request to fly home from practices for the national championship game.



Clarett said Ohio State "gave him the runaround" when he asked to attend Monday's service.

"I guess football's more important than a person's life to them," he said. "That's why I'm ready to get this game over and go back home."

Clarett set Ohio State freshman records this season with 1,190 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. The No. 2-ranked Buckeyes will play Miami in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Friday.

Ohio State sports information director Steve Snapp said he was unaware of Clarett's request to fly home to Youngstown, Ohio. Snapp said he was aware only that Clarett's friend was killed.

Ohio State athletics director Andy Geiger was not immediately available to comment.

Clarett declined to give the name of his friend, who he said was shot last week.

Clarett's mother, Michelle, confirmed that the friend was Juaquin A. "Juan" Bell, 23, of Youngstown.

"It's a friendship they had growing up," she said. "Young people need to say goodbye. It's unfortunate, but you have to go by the rules."

Youngstown police said Bell was shot multiple times Dec. 21. They said drugs, money, and bullet casings were found at the scene. No one had been arrested.

Clarett said he was affected not only by the death but by Ohio State's response.

"I'm kind of messed up now because they jerked me kind of," Clarett said. "I really wanted to go back. I'm not really supposed to be here. But it's cool. Things happen in life, there's bumps in the road like every thing else. But I'll be all right."

Earlier in the season, Clarett had talked about other friends who had not been able to escape the streets in the Rust Belt city. He said he had lost several friends and relatives and that he thought of them every day when he considered how fortunate he was to have a scholarship and the opportunity to better himself.

Clarett said it was difficult to keep a football game in perspective in light of what is going on back home.

"Life's a whole lot more important than football, you know what I mean? We hold the national championship but they won't talk about the homeless and the poor," he said. "We're sitting here in this old grand hotel, things like that, but we can't feed the homeless or poor. ... It's a game."

Clarett was a toddler when his father left home. His mother is the chief deputy clerk for the municipal court in Youngstown.

As he was growing up, he saw people killed in the streets. Once he was playing football in the street when a boy sitting nearby was killed in a drive-by shooting. Another time, Clarett was sitting on the front porch of the house he shared with his mother, grandmother, two brothers and 11 cousins. They saw a neighbor's friend get shot in the chest, crawl into Clarett's front yard and bleed to death.

Clarett said his goal was to funnel money back to people who need it the most.

"You go through downtown Columbus, you've got people sleeping on sidewalks. You know what I mean? And they're giving us scholarships and they're selling 100,000 tickets every game," he said.

"It's the richest part of Columbus, downtown, but you're walking past bums and homeless people. This is wintertime, it's like 19 degrees down there. They're sleeping in boxes and little covers. It don't make any sense to me."

[belcherboy]

I wonder if Clarette will challenge the NFL rule and try to go into the draft??

If he does, I think he would be the highest rated RB. Maybe we would see him in the honolulu blue???

This guy sounds like he is not too happy at OSU, he might be looking for a reason to leave!!

[Boilerfan]

he sounds angry and hurt. It sounds like there was some miscommunication though.

Could they have just pushed him into the NFL? If he does go pro where does he rank? would he be worth the #2 pick?

[NJ Jackal]

Ohio St. has said they will let him go, but they cannot pay for the trip. If they do that (or let a booster do it) then they start looking like a certain maise and blue basketball team. He can be reimbursed by the NCAA; in fact, a player of his magnitude would most likely be reimbursed. Clarrett needs to know the rules or shut his mouth.

[belcherboy]

Originally posted by NJ Jackal
Ohio St. has said they will let him go, but they cannot pay for the trip. If they do that (or let a booster do it) then they start looking like a certain maise and blue basketball team. He can be reimbursed by the NCAA; in fact, a player of his magnitude would most likely be reimbursed. Clarrett needs to know the rules or shut his mouth.

I'm sorry, I didn't read in that article that he wanted Ohio State to pay for his trip or that they said they would let him go. I did read that Ohio State never responded to his request to leave for a few days. From what I've read, he tried to follow the rules, but was ignored when he asked permission to go home.

[NJ Jackal]

Monday, December 30

Missing lifelong friend's funeral angers Clarett

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press



PHOENIX -- Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett said Monday that he missed the funeral of a lifelong friend because school officials never answered his request to fly home from practices for the national championship game.

Clarett said Ohio State "gave him the runaround" when he asked to attend Monday's service.

"I guess football's more important than a person's life to them," he said. "That's why I'm ready to get this game over and go back home."

Ohio State officials said they told Clarett he could buy a ticket and submit a request for reimbursement through the NCAA's special assistance fund, which pays for such emergencies as long as an athlete demonstrates need.

"We told Maurice that he could fly home ... if he could buy a ticket home and back we could reimburse him once the paperwork is filed," said Andy Geiger, Ohio State's athletics director. "He elected not to do that, or couldn't afford that, or there wasn't anybody in his family who could do it. We were stuck in a place where the rule is we couldn't go forward and buy a ticket."

Jim Tressel, Ohio State's coach, said Clarett was never denied the opportunity to return to Youngstown.

"The best thing for all involved is to say it didn't work out," Tressel said.

Clarett set Ohio State freshman records this season with 1,190 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. The No. 2-ranked Buckeyes will play Miami in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Friday.

Clarett declined to give the name of his friend, who he said was shot last week.

Clarett's mother, Michelle, confirmed that the friend was Juaquin A. "Juan" Bell, 23, of Youngstown.

"It's a friendship they had growing up," she said. "Young people need to say goodbye. It's unfortunate, but you have to go by the rules."

Youngstown police said Bell was shot multiple times Dec. 21. They said drugs, money, and bullet casings were found at the scene. No one had been arrested.

Clarett said he was affected not only by the death but by Ohio State's response.

"I'm kind of messed up now because they jerked me kind of," Clarett said. "I really wanted to go back. I'm not really supposed to be here. But it's cool. Things happen in life, there's bumps in the road like every thing else. But I'll be all right."

Tressel called Clarett's comment about football being more important to Ohio State officials than life disappointing, given the theme of the season.

"That's one of the things we talk quite a bit about is that football is a part of life. Football is one of the things we do. It certainly isn't everything we do," Tressel said.

Geiger added: "The human experience is not put on hold because we're playing in the Fiesta Bowl."

Earlier in the season, Clarett had talked about other friends who had not been able to escape the streets in the Rust Belt city. He said he had lost several friends and relatives and that he thought of them every day when he considered how fortunate he was to have a scholarship and the opportunity to better himself.

Clarett said it was difficult to keep a football game in perspective in light of what is going on back home.

"Life's a whole lot more important than football, you know what I mean? We hold the national championship but they won't talk about the homeless and the poor," he said. "We're sitting here in this old grand hotel, things like that, but we can't feed the homeless or poor. ... It's a game."

Clarett was a toddler when his father left home. His mother is the chief deputy clerk for the municipal court in Youngstown.

As he was growing up, he saw people killed in the streets. Once he was playing football in the street when a boy sitting nearby was killed in a drive-by shooting. Another time, Clarett was sitting on the front porch of the house he shared with his mother, grandmother, two brothers and 11 cousins. They saw a neighbor's friend get shot in the chest, crawl into Clarett's front yard and bleed to death.

Clarett said his goal was to funnel money back to people who need it the most.

"You go through downtown Columbus, you've got people sleeping on sidewalks. You know what I mean? And they're giving us scholarships and they're selling 100,000 tickets every game," he said.

"It's the richest part of Columbus, downtown, but you're walking past bums and homeless people. This is wintertime, it's like 19 degrees down there. They're sleeping in boxes and little covers. It don't make any sense to me."



-----------------------------------
This one has a response from Tressel and Buckeye AD Andy Geiger. Clarrett was given the option of going home, Ohio St. could no pay for it.

[Mattingly70]

What the hell is "maise"? Is that the Italian pronunciation of "maize"?

[Ranger]

Originally posted by Mattingly70
What the hell is "maise"? Is that the Italian pronunciation of "maize"?
I think it was last New Years Eve that another spelling nazi left... Do we really need another one?

maise maise maise maise maise maise maise maise

[Boilerfan]

I guess there is more to it than originally reported. It seems that he never filled out the paperwork that would have set up a fund for him to get financial assistance for situations like this. I do not know if that was the sticking point on him getting back, but it does appear that there is more than just OSU wouldn't let him go.



Distraught, yes, but Clarett handles situation badly
Dec. 30, 2002
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer


Dodd Postcard: Distraction for Ohio State

TEMPE, Ariz. -- We can now say it without much qualification: Maurice Clarett is a strange one.

Humble freshmen don't get in the face of their position coach on national television. Teenagers who haven't made their bones don't chase the head coach down the sidelines like Keyshawn Johnson yelling, "Give me the damn ball!" Normal 19-year olds don't upstage a program for their own needs, as the Ohio State running back has done throughout the season.


It's not unusual to find Maurice Clarett offering Jim Tressel coaching advice.(AP)
The latest episode came Monday morning when Ohio State's talented first-year running back revealed that a friend back in his native Youngstown, Ohio, had died. Juaquin A. "Juan" Bell, 23, of Youngstown was shot multiple times Dec. 21 in an apparent drug deal gone bad.

Bell's funeral was Monday, about the same time Clarett was answering questions about the Fiesta Bowl in a Phoenix Airport Marriott interview room. The fact he was here instead of Youngstown bubbled to the top.

Clarett went to his coach Sunday saying he wanted to go home for the funeral. He intimated Monday that he wasn't allowed to leave game preparations here by Ohio State, that he was "given the runaround," by the school. He added he was "messed up" because the school "jerked me, kind of." Then, the bomb fired from the desert all the way back to the school that has coddled him, developed him and given him much more leeway than any freshman should get.

"I guess football's more important than a person's life to them," Clarett said. "That's why I'm ready to get this game over and go back home."

Ohio State scrambled, implementing damage control. Coach Jim Tressel and athletic director Andy Geiger were mobbed by reporters after practice. They were ready to pounce after Clarett painted a picture of a heartless football factory denying a student-athlete the grieving process.

Good story, except it wasn't true.

"I think he knew he could go home," Tressel said.

"We told Maurice that he could fly home, and this is what the compliance people told me," Geiger said.

It's a sad and tragic situation, but the unfortunate fact is that Clarett gets the blame for not being able to make the trip. Not an NCAA that took the bureaucracy out of such situations years ago; it set up the NCAA Special Assistance Fund for just such events. Not Ohio State, which went out of its way to protect its star when he, again, was out of line.

It goes this way: Every incoming scholarship athlete is given something called a SASSA form when they enroll. It is an application for free federal financial aid. It doesn't cost a thing. There is no downside.

Clarett never filled out the paperwork, even though Ohio State compliance officer Heather Catalano intimated that it's routine for freshmen to do so.

"I don't know why he didn't," she said. "I think he probably intended to do it and never got around to it."

Never got around to it? The budding superstar who was savvy enough to graduate early from high school to enroll early at Ohio State ignored a routine document that could have allowed him to honor his friend properly?

Never got around to it? The one player who gives Ohio State a puncher's chance in the Fiesta Bowl; the back who reads holes like Sandburg read prose; the star whose bravery and ingenuity allowed him to become a freshman All-American basically fumbled life.

If he had filled out the form when he enrolled a year ago, the school could have bought Clarett a plane ticket on their own Sunday. If he had filled out the form, any relative, not just his mother, could have put a plane ticket on a credit card to be reimbursed later by the NCAA, after Clarett filled out the paper work.

"He wanted the easy way," Catalano said. "He didn't want to pay for it."

Why he didn't fill out the paperwork is known only to Clarett. It is well known that his family is not well off. He is from the mean streets of Youngstown. All the more reason to plan ahead.

Clarett's father left home when he was a toddler. He grew up in a house with a mother, grandmother, two brothers and 11 cousins. He saw people die. One tragic tale had Clarett witnessing a neighbor's friend shot, then crawl into his front yard and bleed to death.

All the more reason to take care of details to assure his, and his family's, security. But he didn't. And in what has become a pattern for Clarett, he threw everyone else under the bus instead.

"Life's a whole lot more important than football, you know what I mean?" Clarett said Monday. "We hold the national championship, but they won't talk about the homeless and the poor. We're sitting here in this old grand hotel, things like that, but we can't feed the homeless or poor. ... It's a game."

It would have been nice if Clarett had come back home to honor his friend's memory. But it is becoming increasingly clear that while Clarett is hard to bring down, he isn't always a stand-up guy.

Earlier this year, he stated in a national magazine that he was thinking about challenging the NFL's rule against underclassmen entering the draft. Then he said the comment was taken out of context, reiterating on Monday that "there was nothing there. It was a hypothetical question."

Again, not true. What was so hypothetical about Clarett saying his mother was looking into legally challenging the NFL's rules? Since that story came out, Clarett has disparaged the story's author. This month, another writer from the same magazine was not allowed access to players at Ohio State because it was upset over the story.

As for the latest matter, someone should be taking some responsibility here. Clarett is going out of his way to make sure it isn't him. In what should have been a trumpet blast of an example to Clarett, teammate Chris Vance already has tapped the NCAA Special Assistance Fund twice to fly home to Florida for emergencies.

Ohio State has 400 scholarship athletes. Catalano said a large number of them filled out and understood and taken advantage of the SASSA.

"It's pretty straightforward," she said.

Others will try to lay this off as a confusing NCAA rules maneuver. Not so. The existence of the fund itself shows that the NCAA has listened to its constituency.

"There are circumstances in life ... where it seems illogical or inconvenient or inappropriate," Geiger said. "I think the rules are there for good reasons."

If the school is to blame for anything on this one, it's for babying its star. Tressel continually said Monday, "it just didn't work out," when asked about Clarett's trip back home. What he should have said is, "The kid blew it. It's not our fault."

"He's upset," Geiger said when asked about Clarett's inflammatory comments. "I'm not going to lay something on Maurice. We're all concerned for him."

They couldn't -- wouldn't -- blame Clarett during such a sad time in his life. Unfortunately, their star hasn't learned such tact. If Clarett doesn't run for 1,190 yards and 14 touchdowns this year, then his sideline antics border on wacko.

Clarett was seen yelling at running backs coach Tim Spencer during one game. He has been seen literally chasing Tressel down the sidelines "suggesting" plays.

"In big games you want the coach to call your number to kind of put the pressure on yourself," Clarett said. "I just want the pressure to be on. Any athlete should want to make a big play in a big game, if you're a true athlete. A lot of people want to be great, but they don't want to have the pressure on when the game is on the line."

WWWD, or What Would Woody Do, if Clarett had disrupted bowl preparations in such a dramatic way? The answer is recorded on tape of Hayes' last game in the 1978 Gator Bowl when he punched that Clemson linebacker.

Put him on a football field, and Clarett can juke his way out of most situations. But distraught over the loss of a friend Monday, he made the wrong moves.


link to cbssportsline story (http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/6084134)

[MotownRandy]

Still, I can understand Claretts anger. University's in general, give students the runaround. I understand it is against the rules, but there should be some way of helping him out. Afteralll, the school is making money off of his performance. Clarett should have just got money ilegally from a booster or something, then there would probably be no argument about whether or not he could enter the draft.:)

[belcherboy]

Thanks for the other articles. Some of the articles I read made it sound as if OSU screwed him over, but now it seems like they could do nothing about it. I'm really thinking less and less of Clarett's character. He seems to always have some kind of bad situation/attitude looming. There was a rumor that he was going to challenge the NCAA rule and try to go into the draft and then after 3 weeks of rumors he finally comes out and says it wasn't true. Now he bad mouths OSU to the media, when in reality it was probably his fault.

He's a great athlete, but so far with actions so far in college, I'm not sure if I would want him on my pro team!!! (who am I kidding, I would love to see him as a Lion)

[Ranger]

Originally posted by belcherboy
I'm really thinking less and less of Clarett's character.
A close friend of mine is a student manager on the Buckeyes so he gets to travel, eat, stay, practice, hang out with the team. Well, he told me that Clarett is a ******** and no one really likes him because he's so full of himself. He doesn't sign autographs for people and what not. He drives a new Cadillac and he talks about neglecting the poor, he shouldn't throw stones at glass houses.

The team loves what he does on the field by can't stand his ego off the field. Clarett might also cost the Buckeyes a big recruit in Prescott Burgess... Burgess is a senior at Warren G. Harding, the same HS Clarett went to last year and its no secret they don't like each other. Burgess is a pivotal recruit for the Bucks with Doss and Nickey leaving because realistically Burgess with Whitner (another recruit for the season) can replace both players for next year's team. Buckeyes already have a replacement for Wilhem at LB in Mike D'Andrea.

[EA]

Originally posted by Ranger
He drives a new Cadillac and he talks about neglecting the poor, he shouldn't throw stones at glass houses.


Wait a minute ... Clarett grew up in a poor neighborhood, his family wasn't very well off, and yet he can afford to drive a new Cadillac? For some reason, I'm getting flashbacks to Maurice Taylor, or maybe Chris Webber ....

[Ranger]

Originally posted by EA
Wait a minute ... Clarett grew up in a poor neighborhood, his family wasn't very well off, and yet he can afford to drive a new Cadillac? For some reason, I'm getting flashbacks to Maurice Taylor, or maybe Chris Webber ....
NCAA already investigated it. I guess his uncle bought it for him. Whoever it was, it wasn't a booster/OSU and OSU is still clean.

[DetroitFolly]

I'm sorry, but I am a little worried about Clarett...

he seems like he might be the next big head case in sports.

I hope not, because he has a load of talent.

[EA]

Originally posted by Ranger
NCAA already investigated it. I guess his uncle bought it for him. Whoever it was, it wasn't a booster/OSU and OSU is still clean.

ahh, ok. didn't know that the NCAA had already investigated.

[Amish Love Machine]

Originally posted by Ranger
A close friend of mine is a student manager on the Buckeyes so he gets to travel, eat, stay, practice, hang out with the team. Well, he told me that Clarett is a ******** and no one really likes him because he's so full of himself. He doesn't sign autographs for people and what not. He drives a new Cadillac and he talks about neglecting the poor, he shouldn't throw stones at glass houses.

The team loves what he does on the field by can't stand his ego off the field. Clarett might also cost the Buckeyes a big recruit in Prescott Burgess... Burgess is a senior at Warren G. Harding, the same HS Clarett went to last year and its no secret they don't like each other. Burgess is a pivotal recruit for the Bucks with Doss and Nickey leaving because realistically Burgess with Whitner (another recruit for the season) can replace both players for next year's team. Buckeyes already have a replacement for Wilhem at LB in Mike D'Andrea.

That's a shame because Clarett is a great RB. However, if he can disrupt osu's chemistry... :D

(just kidding Ranger.)

[DennyB]

...has mucho grande growing up to do!! If his parent(s) can't straighten this KID out then maybe it's up to the coaching staff to guide him in the proper direction before his problems become more than just college issues. He needs a solid cuff up side the head and then some. Who does he think he is? I do hope that he gets his butt handed to him by the Miami defense. That will be a start on his rude awakening!!

[nickclarke]

He just fired back at OSU again today stating that they never got back to him on his paperwork. This guy sounds like another Ryan Leaf.

[MotownRandy]

You guys may have a point, but lets remember the issue at stake here: A lifelong friend died. He may be overreacting, but wouldnt you act that way too? Let's not judge him based on this incident.