Valley suffers another dishonor

You can bet your bottom dollar that there's a columnist or editorial writer somewhere in Ohio making the following observation:
The Mahoning Valley, which gave the nation a loud-mouth congressman who never saw a bribe he didn't like, a prosecutor who believed that the word justice had a dollar sign at the end of it, a sheriff who accepted campaign contributions from a Mafia boss, and a county engineer who sold his soul to the highest bidder, is once again hanging its head in shame. The source of its latest shame: Maurice Clarett.
That description of the Mahoning Valley -- given today's favorite-son-gone-bad saga -- may well be on the mild side. If the reaction in newspapers and on television around the state and across the nation to Congressman-turned-federal-jailbird James A. Traficant Jr.'s fall from grace is any indication, we're in for a barrage of criticism for producing yet another public figure with a skewed sense of right and wrong.
Is it unfair to paint the Valley with such a broad brush? Of course it is, but we have no one to blame but ourselves. When it comes to judging character, we stink. That is why commentators far and wide relish the idea of using us for target practice. We're easy.
Boorish behavior
For 17 years, Traficant's supporters ignored the former Mahoning County sheriff's boorish behavior, political antics and questionable past and kept him in the U.S. House of Representatives. And when he was finally caught, tried and sentenced to eight years in the federal penitentiary for charges ranging from racketeering to bribery to tax evasion, the diehards quipped, "Everybody does it."
Columnists and editorial writers around the country had a field day pointing out the willingness of the Valley to stand by its crooked politician.
And when a special prosecutor from Lorain County said his goal was to "clean up your crappy town," we were in high dudgeon. How dare he? we asked. Yet, after four years of the federal government's campaign to clean up politics in the region and uproot the Mafia, U.S. Justice Department officials used kinder, gentler words to deliver basically the same message the special prosecutor had sent.
Granted, there are some news organizations that will never acknowledge the good that emanates from the Valley. Thus, the Cleveland Plain Dealer not too long ago had a feature on Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel, and rather than referring to him as a former Mahoning Valley shining star who guided the Youngstown State University Penguins football team to four Division I-AA national championships, the reporter wrote that Tressel was a native of Mentor.
No, the criticism of our region isn't always fair, but in the case of Clarett, we're inextricably tied to that young man's behavior. When he went to Ohio State after a nationally recognized career as a member of the Warren Harding Raiders, he became the Mahoning Valley's ambassador to big-time college football.
And when Clarett and Tressel starred in the Big Show, the constant mention of Youngstown, Warren, the Mahoning Valley and YSU on national television was music to our ears. Ohio State's national championship was actually our moment in the sun -- thanks to Clarett and Tressel.
But now, the football player with God-given talent is facing criminal charges in Columbus Municipal Court and has been suspended from the Buckeyes team for this season.
Instrument of torture
Suddenly the spotlight that the Valley shared with Clarett has become an instrument of torture. Maurice Clarett of Warren, Ohio, has been suspended for the year; Maurice Clarett, the Mahoning Valley's newest favorite son, is facing criminal charges for filing a false police report; Maurice Clarett of Warren, Ohio, may not stay at Ohio State and may file a lawsuit challenging the rule that prevents him from participating in the National Football League's draft. And on and on.
Young man, yes. Misguided young man, most certainly. Another chapter in the Mahoning Valley's tale of woe? Of course.
How does a region that has such a negative reputation redeem itself? By repudiating those who shame it.
What Traficant did is indefensible. What all the other crooked officeholders did is worthy of public rebuke. And what Maurice Clarett has done, not only to himself but to his community, is inexcusable.
Not every star college football player breaks the law. The Mahoning Valley cannot defend his actions. We must show the nation that we have shed our corrupt past.