Court sides with NFL, Clarett & Williams are screwed

[cthomer5000]

ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court formally ruled Monday against Maurice Clarett's effort to enter the NFL draft early, saying federal labor policy permits NFL teams to act together to set rules for when players can enter the league.




The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan was consistent with the appeals court's refusal last month to permit the former Ohio State running back into the NFL draft.



A lower court judge had ruled him eligible for the draft, saying the NFL was violating federal antitrust laws by blocking Clarett's entry into his profession with a rule barring eligibility until a player was three years out of high school.



After the appeals court blocked Clarett's entry, saying it believed it would rule against him, the 20-year-old athlete sought help from the U.S. Supreme Court. Two justices turned him down.



The draft was held on April 24-25, and Clarett was ineligible for it. This ruling means he will not be eligible for a supplemental draft and will have to wait for the 2005 draft.



Clarett's attorney Alan C. Milstein told ESPN's Sal Paolontonio that on Tuesday Clarett will file a motion for the case to be heard before the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan.



A victory by Clarett would have helped another college player as well: wide receiver Mike Williams of Southern California, who also was seeking to get into the draft in violation of the three-year rule.



Williams' agent, Michael Azzarelli told ESPN on Monday he will file a separate lawsuit against NFL in Tampa alleging the NFL encouraged Williams to make himself eligible for the draft.



Azzarelli has said that Williams' NFL eligibility should be considered separately from Clarett's because he entered the draft only after the league set a new deadline for previously ineligible players in the aftermath of the ruling that made Clarett eligible.



NFL officials have said they will keep Williams out of the league along with Clarett if they're legally able to do so because they warned Williams before he entered the draft they would attempt to overturn the decision and would rule Williams ineligible if they were able to reverse the decision.



NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash said in a statement that the appeals court ruling Monday "leaves no doubt that legal challenges to the NFL's long-standing eligibility rules have no basis whatsoever."



"We are grateful for the Court's prompt attention to our appeal, but not at all surprised by the result, which represents a complete victory for the National Football League," he said.



Clarett rushed for 1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman in 2002, leading the Buckeyes to the national championship. He was suspended before the 2003 season for accepting money from a family friend and lying about it to NCAA and Ohio State investigators.



He also pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor after exaggerating the value of items stolen from a car he borrowed from a Columbus used-car dealer. He was fined $100.

[cthomer5000]

I'll be pretty interested to see what happens with Mike Williams - specifically whether the NCAA will bend and allow him his eligibility back.

I personally hope so, as I don't feel this whole thing is really his fault.

[pennywisesb]

I'm gonna assume here that the NCAA allows Mike Williams to re-enroll in school since the whole reason he declared himself eligible was because there were questions about the validity of the eligibility rules. Since there is no question about them now, it would only seem fair to allow both of these guys to go back to school with no penalty. I could really care less about Clarrett, but how does back to back National Championships sound to all the USC haters! GO SC!

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by pennywisesb

I'm gonna assume here that the NCAA allows Mike Williams to re-enroll in school since the whole reason he declared himself eligible was because there were questions about the validity of the eligibility rules. Since there is no question about them now, it would only seem fair to allow both of these guys to go back to school with no penalty. I could really care less about Clarrett, but how does back to back National Championships sound to all the USC haters! GO SC!

Well, Clarett dropped out of school so I don't know how much an option that is for him. Even if he went back, I don't think there's any way he'd be academically eligible for 2004.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Well, Clarett dropped out of school so I don't know how much an option that is for him. Even if he went back, I don't think there's any way he'd be academically eligible for 2004.

Did Williams drop out of school as well? It seems like a ton of guys drop out once they are getting ready to do all of the combines and such.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by pennywisesb

I'm gonna assume here that the NCAA allows Mike Williams to re-enroll in school

You want to lay some bets down? I wouldn't bet on the NCAA doing something beneficial for the student-athletes, especially if it means bending the rules. There is probably a more byzantine operation out there, but I haven't heard of it yet. Williams at best would get like a 3-4 game suspension and then be eligible. His best course of action might be CFL/AFL for a year then go to the NFL.

[Fritz]

I think the CFL/AFL would hurt more than help him. Can you even enter the draft after doing either?

[SFL Cat]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

You want to lay some bets down? I wouldn't bet on the NCAA doing something beneficial for the student-athletes, especially if it means bending the rules. There is probably a more byzantine operation out there, but I haven't heard of it yet. Williams at best would get like a 3-4 game suspension and then be eligible. His best course of action might be CFL/AFL for a year then go to the NFL.

I tend to agree with Bishop. In the past NCAA has usually been a hard-a$$ about its rules, even in a gray-area case like Mike Williams.

[mckerney]

Williams may still have a chance at a suplemental draft as he is claiming that he declared because the NFL encouraged him to by contacting him on whether he was going to enter the draft after the initial ruling in favor of Clarett. Not sure how much of a chance he has on those grounds, but it seems like he may still have a shot at getting in the league.

[ISiddiqui]

Thought they'd rule this way. I don't think the SCOTUS accepts cert for a Clarett appeal. They'll just let the 2nd Circuit's ruling stand.

[Mr. Wednesday]

NFL officials have said they will keep Williams out of the league along with Clarett if they're legally able to do so because they warned Williams before he entered the draft they would attempt to overturn the decision and would rule Williams ineligible if they were able to reverse the decision.

Furthermore, hasn't Williams signed with an agent? I think he's crossed the line firmly enough that the NCAA won't let him back.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Dola, the first appeal isn't to the Supreme Court, it's for the 2nd Circuit to hear it en banc (if I'm reading the ESPN story correctly).

[ice4277]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wednesday

Furthermore, hasn't Williams signed with an agent? I think he's crossed the line firmly enough that the NCAA won't let him back.

I had thought that he hadn't signed with an agent, in case of something like this happening, but I'm not sure, and too lazy to do a search on it.

[Danny]

Mike Williams did in fact hire an agent.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by EagleEye11

Mike Williams did in fact hire an agent.

And thus he is done. The NCAA is not gonna let him back in.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Fritz

I think the CFL/AFL would hurt more than help him. Can you even enter the draft after doing either?

This would be a unique situation compared to most players in those leagues. Most players in those leagues have gone through one draft as eligible.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Fritz

I think the CFL/AFL would hurt more than help him. Can you even enter the draft after doing either?

I think you can apply for some sort of special entry into the draft. Tamarick Vanover did that (coming from the CFL) and I believe he was drafted.

[gstelmack]

There was talk yesterday that Williams might have academic eligibility questions.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

There was talk yesterday that Williams might have academic eligibility questions.

Then I guess it's a year of running and lifting weights. Hooray!

[ScottVib]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I'll be pretty interested to see what happens with Mike Williams - specifically whether the NCAA will bend and allow him his eligibility back.

I personally hope so, as I don't feel this whole thing is really his fault.

I disagree with him being let back in. The NCAA won't let Bloom play football because he signed some skiing endorsements, saying that professionalizes him because the endorsements capitalize on his athletic achievements.

Williams not only signed with an agent, signed the NFLPA licensing agreement, and signed some trading card, etc. type endorsements. There was no reason he had to sign with an agent or any of the endorsements before the draft, yet he did. At that point he professionalized himself.

If he was a basketball player and signed with an agent he'd lose all his eligibility, I don't see any reason why this should be different. He made the decision to fully professionalize himself, and got burned when the court case he was relying on was overturned. Go to Canada, work out and play semi-pro ball, play in the arena league or in NFL Europe, but I don't think he should get his eligibility back. He made his decision... now he's got to deal with the consequences of it.