The Clark situation is tragic all the way around.  First and foremost, for the victims (the girlfriend and the rest of the folks who witnessed the reported atrocity).  Of course. 

It is also tragic for a young man who seemed to have overcome both a very tough background and a prior, very public, mistake (the laptop fiasco).  Until Sunday morning, Clark's story was one of success and redemption, and he's thrown a lot away.  But in the meantime, based on the details that emerged today, let's give credit to Hoke for making the right decision promptly and professionally. 

Oh, and 2014?   Enough already!

Unfortunate, but absolutely the right call by Hoke and company.

so sad.  recent articles made it appear that clark had really turned things around, no small feat given his background.  here's hoping he can do that again.

more for the victims, particularly the children who appear to have witnessed and/or been subject to domestic violence. I hope the victim gets the help she needs, and hope the children are resilient.

That a young man would potentially throw a career in the trash can and commit violent acts against other people is a tragedy and very sad.  Clark needs help, and I hope he finds it quickly.

Best of luck to Clark turning his life around.

And it is time for Taco and Mario to step it up!

Terrible situation for everybody involved....hopefully they can all heal and move forward with their lives out this destroying everyone. 

I hate to think this way but guys who come from such terrible situations just should never go home again. You can't go back to a bad situation 'cause stuff like this happens all the time. Jalen Rose goes home over the holidays and is busted in a crack house just hanging with friends. Obviously a little different because he didn't do anything, was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but putting kids back into those terrible enviornments seems like you are just asking for trouble. 

End of story

Hopefully the victim heals physically and emotionally and gets Frank out of her life before he hurts her or her baby again.

As for us, after Gibbons left, we could claim to be free of violent criminals for the first time in years. With Clark booted--granted only after he turned violent criminal--we are free of criminals altogether, right? YMMV on the role of the second receiver in the Csont'e York sucker punching (I, for one, think he should also have been charged), but this is an improvement.

Such a disappointing story. Kid needs help clearly. Hope his girlfriend heals up mentally and physically and that her little brother gets some help from having witnessed this. All involved need to be reminded that this behavior is not acceptable from anyone. Ever.

This situation ultimately requires a more nuanced eye in assessing his legal standing in the criminal justice system, but Michigan doesn't need for formal justice to run its course to understand that no mitigating circumstance lives up to being a Michigan player or simply a civil human being.

Large men beating on women never ceases to boggle me. Unless threatened with weapon and life threatening, there is absolutely no rationale that makes any goddamned sense. The person either has a screw loose; a temperament that is best dealt with by law officials or fellow potential inmates or they're just bad people.

I really thought (hoped) Frank had turned the corner from what was juvenile larcenous act. That was easily written off. What it bears on this completely untenable situation is debatable and probably unrelated but it was a frame of reference in marking his maturity. I thought I had seen that this year in interviews.

No one really knows anyone.

Thoughts out to the victim and family. Get some help after paying your debts Frank. 

Clark likely knew that NW is his last collegiate game and played like there is no tomorrow. 

It's the right decision. That being said I feel very sorry for Clark and his family. He had a bright future and this incident puts any future pro career in doubt. For Frank and other guys like him an NFL payday is a way out of horrible life circumstances. Given recent the events in the NFL related to domestic violence Frank Clark may never get a shot. 

and her family members who witnessed these actions.  Can you imagine seeing a 280 pound hunk of muscle attacking your sister?

Sorry Frank, there are no reasons to excuse your actions or have any feelings for your future.

There's a perception, accurate or not, that star athletes get special treatment by law enforcement. That perception then leads to a presumption - when law enforcement does take action against a star athlete, it is probably an under-reaction rather than an over-reaction. Hit-and-run turns into a traffic ticket, body slamming a security guard becomes a "Youthful Trainee" sentence, whipping a child until he bleeds becomes a no contest plea to a misdemeanor, etc.

Frank Clark's arrest occurs in this context. We can all advocate for innocent until proven guilty, waiting for the legal process to play out, making sure all the facts are in before jumping to conclusions, etc. However, I think we also have to recognize that the law isn't always blind when it comes to star athletes, and we can't always rely on the outcome of a legal process to completely define how we should view, or judge, a particular situation.

It's fair to hold our legal system to a standard that the accused are innocent until proven guilty. It's fair to hold reporters to a standard of framing their reports with the word, "alleged." But I also think it's fair for the public, including people who post on fan blogs, to view events like this within the context of how star athletes are treated by law enforcement in our society.

Can someone elaborate as to what help is really available to perpetrators of domestic violence vs. victims? Obviously in the USvictims have a lot of sympathy and resources (therapy, shelters, resource) both private and state.  Perpetrators? I just don't see much there, except jail, courts and prison, etc. I'm sure I'm mistaken.

Hoke made the right decision.

Obviously a really sad story, and probably much deeper so than people generally want to acknowledge.

As far as Clark's future, hopefully he can turn it around somehow.  We can imagine that if the mother's child is indeed his, then Clark may not have much access to being part of that child's life at all.   And we know there's a massive audience of people in society who applaud that kind of outcome, pointing rightly to the domestic violence and assault on the mother, and in front of other children.  It's not right, I'm just saying that such results can really spiral out of control fast, and can create a great deal of mental anguish for Frank Clark too. It's how young men become non-fathers and reduced to state-sanctioned child-support providers.

Sad for Clark. Sad for the mother. Sad for the child. Sad for the families. Hopefully, somehow, there will be a far happier ending than what we see right now.  But I imagine the predictive stats for success are not promising.

having to make that decision, but it had to be made.  Swift and just...the program can look at itself in the mirror with dignity by doing the right thing.  Especially in the light of all the issues the NFL has had recently, this had to be done.