MAURICE CLARETT CASE Dad wants limbo to end

The Youngstown man urged a quick resolution for the problem.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Myke Clarett is tired.
Tired of the painful words, unexplainable motives and drawn-out decision-making. Tired of the country's turning against his son, Ohio State sophomore running back Maurice Clarett.
"Within a year, he's gone from being Ohio State's favorite son to Dr. Evil," Myke Clarett said Tuesday night. "The relationship has deteriorated."
Myke Clarett is bothered most by what he calls "the lull in the process" by Ohio State.
"I wish they would be more expedient in turning the information over to the NCAA," he said. "If they want to sever the relationship with him, then go ahead and do it. But there's been too much rumor and conjecture."
Maurice Clarett has become the focal point of Ohio State, college football and the national media amid reports that he received preferential academic treatment and later overestimated the value of merchandise stolen from a car he borrowed from a Columbus dealership.
The latter allegation resurfaced Tuesday when misdemeanor charges were filed against Clarett, who said he lost $10,000 in the theft, for falsifying information on a police report.
"From what I can determine, with what transpired Tuesday, it's the beginning of the end of his association with Ohio State," Myke Clarett said. "They're trying everything to make him look as bad as they can and then sever the relationship."
Still lives here
Myke Clarett, 44, is a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High and Bowling Green State University and lives in Youngstown.
Because he is estranged from the family, he hasn't spoken to his son. Instead, he's watched from a distance during the good times and now the bad.
"The biggest thing right now is the assault on his character," he said. "The national columnists and pundits are calling him a cancer and everything that's wrong in college sports. That is not right."
Just one year ago, Myke Clarett remembers, 100,000 fans packed Ohio Stadium and chanted Maurice's name. National columnists predicted a Heisman Trophy, and then the Buckeyes culminated the season by winning the national championship.
"They said he was the greatest thing since sliced bread," Myke Clarett said. "They made him a superstar, but they didn't give him the tools to handle it."
Myke Clarett believes Ohio State and media members were caught off guard by his son's arrival to the program.
"It had been so long since somebody of that magnitude stepped on campus, and they didn't know how to handle it," he said.
Instead, Myke Clarett argues, his son's story is played higher in the national media than other controversial stories, such as the Baylor University basketball murder scandal, former Washington coach Rick Neuheisel's firing for gambling and Michigan player Marlin Jackson's assault charge.
But why?
An easy target
"It's an easy target to put on one guy, and he's not even 20," he said. "Yes, he's a little spoiled, he's a little selfish, but they [the media] helped to create the monster."
Myke Clarett acknowledges his son is not mistake-free. Yet, he wonders about a university's relationship with a star athlete, and how someone such as Maurice Clarett can be taken advantage of by the system.
"He's made a lot of revenue for the university, but you never hear information on how much," Myke Clarett said. "Let him become a superstar, and then say you can be a star but don't accept any benefits of superstardom.
"We [the university] can make millions of dollars, but you [the player] are supposed to turn everything down," he added. "It's unrealistic."
Until the NCAA determines Maurice Clarett's eligibility status, Myke Clarett has declined to speculate on his son's next career move.
But he did offer a message for him.
"It looks bad now, but everything will be OK. Family and friends still love him," Myke Clarett said. "He's still my son, and you have to defend your family."
richesson@vindy.com