A year ago Maurice Clarett was the talk of college football because of his excellent play on the field. He is now suspended from The Ohio State University Football Team. Throughout the sports fan world, some people would like to see this young man severely punished for lying about stolen merchandise.

When Maurice Clarett led the Buckeyes to the College Football National Championship last January, no one expected him not to be in the OSU's backfield this fall. Apparently, Clarett's problems mostly stem from his vehicle being stolen, and the "erroneous police report" he gave to officials. Neither the NCAA nor the Ohio State University athletics took this situation likely. It was reported that Maurice had committed more than 12 NCAA violations and OSU officials had no choice but to suspend their star running back.

Many college fans are mad with Clarett's actions. Some believe that he deserves jail time or should thrown out of college football completely. While Clarett clearly made poor judgment, he is not a hard core criminal. The young man made a mistake and let him give us a chance to apologize. Regardless of what you may think of him, or how much you want him to play, he is a human being and can make mistakes.

Clarett will probably never play another college down, but he deserves another chance. He now faces a fight he might not be able to win until Clarett would be eligible for the NFL draft, because his college eligibility is in doubt. College Division 1-A teams make millions each year due to the efforts of athletes such as Maurice Clarett, yet people call college football players spoiled brats. We hope he can return to play in college because of concerns for his safety. Another year of college football may be enough for the speedy Clarett to excel at the NFL level.

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