Clarett needs Brown's advice

COLUMBUS -- If 105,000 fans at Ohio Stadium Saturday were concerned that Maurice Clarett was not in uniform for the Buckeyes' season opener against Washington, they didn't show it.
At least, not once the game began.
Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross, who were at Ohio State when Clarett was rushing his way to high school All-American honors at Warren Harding, were received enthusiastically by the Buckeye Nation when they first stepped onto the turf at the 'Shoe.
Opinions about Clarett in Columbus, as they are around the state, are as divided as one might expect. The thing we must all keep in mind, though, is this -- the only person whose opinion really counts is Jim Tressel.
It will be Tressel's decision, in the end, on how many games Clarett will sit out as part of his NCAA-mandated punishment.
It will be up to Tressel to decide when and how Clarett will return to the lineup.
Silence is golden
Not to discount the person at the center of the maelstrom. Clarett's opinion of all this is important, too, but what's impressed me is the silence he's maintained since this whole thing was first made public.
Clarett has always been willing to share his views, regardless of what the reaction would be.
He should have known, for instance, that his criticism of the Ohio State athletic department during the week preceding the Fiesta Bowl, for not allowing him to return home for the funeral of a murdered friend, would spur an immediate reaction from the media.
But that personality trait is part of the Clarett makeup. It's also part of what makes him a better football player than virtually anyone else in the college game.
Could he choose better words sometimes? Sure.
Could his timing be better? Absolutely.
But, it's who Maurice Clarett is. He'll tell you what he thinks, why he thinks it, and when he decides he'll tell you.
That's why it was intriguing that Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown was involved in the many meetings that the Clarett family had with Ohio State and the NCAA the last month and a half.
Many similarities
Clarett reminds us a lot of Brown.
The difference being, of course, that a black man in the 1960's, a black athlete, no less, wasn't expected to have any opinions. At least, none that he should share with White America.
Today, we can debate whether Clarett's actions should cause him to be ineligible to play college football.
Less than four decades ago, when Brown was in the prime of his career, he spoke out about the issues of the day -- civil rights and the poor, to name two -- and literally put his life on the line.
You might forget, for instance, that Brown retired from pro football after just nine seasons, eight of which he led the NFL in rushing. He walked away from the game as the all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Brown remains an important role model for young African-Americans. He's had some brushes with the law, but, by and large, is a man whose opinion we should all listen to.
Unique perspective
We don't have to agree with everything he says. No one has all the answers 100 percent of the time.
But, what Brown is able to bring to the table is a perspective from someone who has played the game, literally and figuratively, as a participant and as an observer.
And that's what Clarett needs. The advice he gets from Brown should far outweigh anything anyone else, outside of the team itself, gives him.
XRob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor@vindy.com.