Maurice Clarett writes for grantland
Interesting article written by Clarett chronicalling his life up through high school. Its part of a two part series with college life to come. Its a pretty interesting piece and Clarett comes off as pretty intelligent. he seems to have turned his life around to some degree so good for him.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:49 PM ^
I saw "Maurice Clarett writes" and assumed it was some kind of joke. I hope he is turning his life around. I hate to see people waste talent like he has and hopefully he can be a positive example in the future.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:51 PM ^
Poor guy is hated by the fans of the university he brought a national championship to (and I mean HATED to this day)... He had a rough upbringing, gets brought to Ohio by that snake of a coach (who probably knew/supported/setup his dealings with the guy who gave Clarrett all that stuff), and then when he really needs their help and support they cast him off. Like a leper. He only now is starting to be accepted by some fans because he finally just shut up about being the obvious scapegoat that he was.
Now, yes he did some bad things himself following that, but it is easy to see how his life could start spinning out of control. Glad to see he is getting back on track with his life outside of football.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:51 PM ^
I'll never be a big fan of him as a player, but the way his life fell apart the last couple of years was heartbreaking and definitely not a fate one should wish on anyone. Good to see he's making some strides back.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:05 PM ^
Whats up with the MSU logo on Opp Watch? Someone want to change that?
October 12th, 2011 at 1:57 PM ^
I feel like a lot of you guys here dislike Bill Simmons and, in turn, Grantland. Am I one of the few that really enjoys it? They write about a lot of different sports from unusual angles and views and have some fun gimmicks like the Bad Quarterback League. It's not supposed to be super serious for the most part and I think most of the articles make for pretty good reads.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^
I like a lot of what they do. They take sports and look at from different angles. I find that most their stuff is more interesting than any sports illstrated article. Another place i enjoy is the ESPN commentary section. I enjoy reading about everything involved with sports off the field.
October 12th, 2011 at 3:39 PM ^
Yeah that's exactly it. I would much rather read about off-field stuff than rehashing the same analysis over and over
October 12th, 2011 at 2:58 PM ^
I love Grantland. Ever since they appeared, the only reason I go to ESPN.com anymore is for Saturday box scores. It's probably the best collection of writers you'll find in one place. I wonder how much money they gave Bill to pilfer all of these people?
October 12th, 2011 at 11:39 PM ^
Do people here dislike Simmons? We don't really like the local Sports Columnists/Radio Talk Show guys, but I don't think Simmons (and by extension Grantland) are necessarily hated around here
October 12th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^
The comments I just read below by die hard M fans would never be said on a buckeye board about Mike Hart for instance. Makes me proud to be a Blue fan, we truly are the best fan base....ever
October 12th, 2011 at 2:13 PM ^
October 12th, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^
I really wish more people who took benefits would be encouraged to tell their story. As opposed to victimizing them and pushing them off to the side. Things like how it starts, how it snowballs out of control, etc. Give us more of an understanding of why it happens.
People like to say the easy answer is "teenagers are greedy" but it really can go beyond that. They might feel a need to provide for their parents, their siblings, or something else. Just be interesting to get all the stories and figure out how we can adjust the structure of college football to avoid it.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:22 PM ^
They don't because they generally don't get caught for everything and they dont want to get their school in any more trouble. Look at what happened to Clarett he didn't even give details and he is hated in columbus
October 12th, 2011 at 2:21 PM ^
It's not just teenagers who are greedy. You old people are too!
/s...but not really
October 12th, 2011 at 2:38 PM ^
But wasn't he incarcerated for a gun charge or something? Is that over or offbase completely?
October 12th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
He was pulled over, had open containers of alcohol and many weapons in the car. he went to jail and hit rock bottom, read a lot, and worked on turning his life around. he was released on good behavior within the last 2 years or so. Tressel lobbied for OSU to admit him and help him get a degree
October 12th, 2011 at 2:41 PM ^
in me think Clarett is back at OSU to finish his degree so it will keep him quiet.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^
The sweatervest held his hand when he was release....part of *keeping him quiet* in exchange for his sacrafice for the program.
Smith is dead man walking...can't see him holding onto his job.
October 12th, 2011 at 5:35 PM ^
Writing a two-part longform essay published on a major website is an odd way of keeping quiet.
October 12th, 2011 at 7:11 PM ^
...the person who he was being loyal to isn't there anymore. Perhaps he dosen't have to honor that *commintment* anymore,therefore he can express himself as he is doing with this article.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:41 PM ^
during his time at tUOS(mostly leading up to the 2002 season). Who helped finace his suv with the phat rims along with the grading scandle which led to a educator running for her life(literally chase out of town)from Columbus.
I've always like MoC13,along wih Orlando Pace and a few others,felt he was taken advantage of my being made the scapegoat...when others CLEARLY were involed.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^
This is actually a well written article and gives some insight into just how driven a player Clarett was. I always thought he just fell into life because of his natural ability, but it seems like he had a plan from the time he was young and built himself into the player he was. I'm looking forward to reading the second part of the article.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:49 PM ^
was the best high school football player I've ever seen. Bar none.
Also, our high school football coach left after my sophomore year to coach Austintown Fitch and was the head coach while Clarrett was there. I still see him all the time, but never asked about him. I'll try to remember next time I see him.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
When Clarett started singing and that huge ESPN article came out, it claimed that Clarett actually wanted to commit to ND, but when he said he wanted to graduate early that put the kabosh on it. There is really no mention of that here.
October 12th, 2011 at 2:54 PM ^
Now I understand. Maurice Clarett writing for Grantland: they were going for irony. I wonder if they have told him yet?
October 12th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
As a huge Buckeye fan that went through my high school years with MoC, I've come full circle on him. I loved watching him play for us. Man, could that kid play. He always got tackled forward, put in the extra effort and broke so many big plays. Then I hated him. Hated him because I was upset he left early, hated him because I stereotyped him as a no good thug who finally showed his true colors, who's greed finally got the best of him.
Recently, in the last two years or so, I've slowly started to change my persception of Maurice. Jim Tressel stood up for him and lobbied to have him come back to OSU to finish school, for him to be released from prison to play football, and for teams to take a chance on him. He's a hard worker and he's turning his life around. I don't think he gets too many carries this year with the Nighthawks. I wish him nothing but the best and hope that, more than being success on the field, he can become a great father, husband and mentor for young people.
Mo has made lots of mistakes in life, and I won't defend those. But I'm glad to see he seems to have learned from them and is moving forward in a positive manor.
October 12th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^
I remember Mike Shanahan saying he was one of the smartest kids he'd interviewed coming into the draft. I was shocked at the time. I really liked the article, looking forward to part 2.
October 12th, 2011 at 4:33 PM ^
Dont judge a book by its cover or by some of its actions.. Especially when its a guy thats actually pretty damn smart. Good article.
October 13th, 2011 at 12:01 AM ^
Though it has been awhile since the last update, I enjoyed some of his quips.
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<br>http://mauriceclarett.wordpress.com/