LEVIN: Don't Forget Clarett
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Jan 7 2010, 9:01 AM
We live in an age where not a season goes by in any sport where some athlete doesn't do something stupid. Now, when you're getting paid millions to do something you love, it becomes extra stupid to potentially throw it away over pride/cocksmanship/braggadocio/etc. And yet, from Pacman Jones making it rain to Tiger unable to keep it in his pants, again and again the same mistakes are repeated. When people with this much money and under this much public scrutiny are involved, they have far more to lose than the average Joe.
The latest such scandal involves the Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas, or Agent Zero to the rest of the gun-toting world. I won't get into all the details especially since The Washington Post and we already have you covered, but let's just say it's some stupid shit. Not Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg stupid, but not far off.
So with all of this stupid running through professional sports, I offer a cautionary tale. Exhibit OG: Former Ohio State and failed Denver Broncos Running Back Maurice Clarett.
Clarett was good. Really good. A true freshman who battled back from injury and helped lead the Buckeyes to a thrilling National Championship victory over then-juggernaut Miami in 2002. He was a stud, then had some problems on and off the field and was suspended for the 2003 season. He sued the NFL to change the draft restrictions so he could enter the league earlier than 3 years following his high school graduation. Long story short, he initially won before having the decision overturned by the Supreme Court. But that would be the last time he'd ever have any luck with courtrooms or rules.
His problems started with an alleged cheating and preferential treatment scandal in 2003 followed by the "borrowed" car scandal during which he claimed $10,000 worth of items were stolen from it while he left it in a parking lot (which led directly to his suspension). After that, things got totally gangsta. You can check out the whole timeline of the verified craziness here.
I want to address why Clarett is currently serving a prison sentence, and why he's an excellent cautionary tale for every athlete that wants to lose their damn mind while sitting in the crosshairs of the public eye.
In August of 2006, Clarett was arrested after a highway pursuit by police. The arresting officers had to use Mace to subdue him because the taser wasn't working through his bullet proof vest and he was spitting in their faces and resisting. Oh, and what did they find in the car? In addition to a half bottle of Grey Goose vodka, the gangsta total came to 4 guns (including an AK-47) and either a katana or a hatchet. I'm betting it was a katana, because that seems to fit the rest of the story a little better, unless of course there was a dead hooker in the trunk. But there wasn't. Later on, the story would take another weird twist and reveal Clarett had mafia ties...
If you want to prove you're the stupidest athlete out there... That's going to be tough. There's a veritable smorgasbord of classic idiots to beat out in the whole of professional sports, and Jose Canseco even wrote a book... But if you want to prove you're the toughest SOB in the locker room like Arenas or Plaxico (considering they each shot their respective careers in the foot), give it a rest. Maurice Clarett is the original gangsta. Everything you've seen in the movies is just his life. Just play the damn game. Stop throwing your lives away in an attempt to prove something.
You'll never be the OG.
Speaking of Clarett, he is currently trying to turn his life around. He's been blogging from prison by calling in entries to friends and family (due to lack of Internet access) and trying to serve as a cautionary tale for kids and, hopefully, other athletes.
--
Rob Levin wants to assure you that he is not gangsta. He's just writes things like The Darkness: Shadows and Flame and Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box involving demons, gun runners, mystical artifacts and the like. He will not be shooting himself (accidentally or otherwise) any time soon. He can be found on the Internet at Authentic Impostor and on twitter @roblevin.
We live in an age where not a season goes by in any sport where some athlete doesn't do something stupid. Now, when you're getting paid millions to do something you love, it becomes extra stupid to potentially throw it away over pride/cocksmanship/braggadocio/etc. And yet, from Pacman Jones making it rain to Tiger unable to keep it in his pants, again and again the same mistakes are repeated. When people with this much money and under this much public scrutiny are involved, they have far more to lose than the average Joe.
The latest such scandal involves the Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas, or Agent Zero to the rest of the gun-toting world. I won't get into all the details especially since The Washington Post and we already have you covered, but let's just say it's some stupid shit. Not Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg stupid, but not far off.
So with all of this stupid running through professional sports, I offer a cautionary tale. Exhibit OG: Former Ohio State and failed Denver Broncos Running Back Maurice Clarett.
Clarett was good. Really good. A true freshman who battled back from injury and helped lead the Buckeyes to a thrilling National Championship victory over then-juggernaut Miami in 2002. He was a stud, then had some problems on and off the field and was suspended for the 2003 season. He sued the NFL to change the draft restrictions so he could enter the league earlier than 3 years following his high school graduation. Long story short, he initially won before having the decision overturned by the Supreme Court. But that would be the last time he'd ever have any luck with courtrooms or rules.
His problems started with an alleged cheating and preferential treatment scandal in 2003 followed by the "borrowed" car scandal during which he claimed $10,000 worth of items were stolen from it while he left it in a parking lot (which led directly to his suspension). After that, things got totally gangsta. You can check out the whole timeline of the verified craziness here.
I want to address why Clarett is currently serving a prison sentence, and why he's an excellent cautionary tale for every athlete that wants to lose their damn mind while sitting in the crosshairs of the public eye.
In August of 2006, Clarett was arrested after a highway pursuit by police. The arresting officers had to use Mace to subdue him because the taser wasn't working through his bullet proof vest and he was spitting in their faces and resisting. Oh, and what did they find in the car? In addition to a half bottle of Grey Goose vodka, the gangsta total came to 4 guns (including an AK-47) and either a katana or a hatchet. I'm betting it was a katana, because that seems to fit the rest of the story a little better, unless of course there was a dead hooker in the trunk. But there wasn't. Later on, the story would take another weird twist and reveal Clarett had mafia ties...
If you want to prove you're the stupidest athlete out there... That's going to be tough. There's a veritable smorgasbord of classic idiots to beat out in the whole of professional sports, and Jose Canseco even wrote a book... But if you want to prove you're the toughest SOB in the locker room like Arenas or Plaxico (considering they each shot their respective careers in the foot), give it a rest. Maurice Clarett is the original gangsta. Everything you've seen in the movies is just his life. Just play the damn game. Stop throwing your lives away in an attempt to prove something.
You'll never be the OG.
Speaking of Clarett, he is currently trying to turn his life around. He's been blogging from prison by calling in entries to friends and family (due to lack of Internet access) and trying to serve as a cautionary tale for kids and, hopefully, other athletes.
--
Rob Levin wants to assure you that he is not gangsta. He's just writes things like The Darkness: Shadows and Flame and Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box involving demons, gun runners, mystical artifacts and the like. He will not be shooting himself (accidentally or otherwise) any time soon. He can be found on the Internet at Authentic Impostor and on twitter @roblevin.
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