OSU FOOTBALL Clarett enters innocent plea over misdemeanor

His attorney said that he never acknowledged exaggerating the items.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Attorneys for suspended Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett entered an innocent plea on his behalf Monday on a misdemeanor falsification charge.
Clarett is charged with filing an exaggerated theft report with campus police in April after a dealership's car he was borrowing was broken into. The police report said cash and stereo equipment worth thousands of dollars was taken.
Prosecutors and Ohio State University police last Tuesday filed the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The case was to be assigned today to a judge in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Led to investigation
The police report was among factors that led to investigations by the NCAA and university, which has suspended the sophomore for at least this season after accusations he broke NCAA bylaws by receiving extra benefits and lying to investigators. Separately, Ohio State is investigating charges that athletes received improper help in classes.
Messages were left Monday at the Columbus office of the attorneys who entered the plea, Percy Squire and Lloyd Pierre-Louis.
Clarett family attorney Alan C. Milstein said Monday the family hired Squire to handle the criminal case.
Through another attorney, Clarett had apologized in July over "embarrassment" from the report. Milstein, however, said Clarett did not acknowledge exaggerating the items.
Still considering options
Milstein declined to elaborate on his request sent last week to the NFL asking the league to change its rules to make Clarett eligible for the 2004 NFL draft. He also wouldn't say if Clarett intends to register and attend classes, which start Sept. 24.
"We're still considering all the options he has available to him," he said.
Under NFL rules, he would not be eligible for the draft until his third year out of high school, which would be 2005.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Sunday that attorneys from his office would meet with Milstein soon to discuss the case, but added the league opposes changing the rule.
Despite missing several games with injuries, Clarett rushed for 1,237 yards and 18 touchdowns last season as Ohio State won the national championship.