Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has taken his case to the Supreme Court in order to be eligible for this year’s NFL draft, even though he is not three years out of high school.
Even though I completely disagree with the ruling in theory, there is no way Clarett is going to win this case, considering the fact that there is a collective bargaining agreement between the players and the owners, which explicitly embraces the rule as stated.
With that said, what is going to happen if and when the ruling is final and the players have to wait another year in order to enter the draft?
Maurice Clarett will not be allowed back into college, considering the fact that he is the one who filed the lawsuit, and I doubt Ohio State would want him back anyway.
Whatever.
The real question that comes into the mind of many fans, including me, is what will happen to former USC wideout Mike Williams.
After Clarett won his lawsuit against the NFL in the lower court, Williams decided to make the jump as well, but now is stuck in a tight position since he has already hired an agent.
However, his case is different from Clarett’s since his agent claims the NFL told him that he was eligible. Now that they have told him he is ineligible, he should either be able to return to college or go to the NFL.
There would be no doubt that Williams would be happy with either of those scenarios, but right now, it looks like he may have to sit out a year and make himself eligible for the draft next season.
So the question remains: Should the NCAA reinstate him or should the NFL make just this one exception and allow him to be drafted this year, since he has already signed with the NFL Players Association?
Both scenarios are plausible and I would not have any problem seeing him going to back to college or to the NFL.
However, I think the decision should be made in a specific order.
The NCAA should consider Williams an exception to the rule since he was misled to believe that he could enter the draft.
Even though he professionalized himself by hiring an agent, the fact that he was misled by the NFL means that he was under false pretenses, which the NCAA should take into account.
He could get out of the Players Association and then also get rid of the agent in order to be eligible, and the NCAA could make the exception.
But then again, the NCAA is a bunch of raging jackasses and nothing they do would surprise me, so just in case they do not reinstate Williams into the NCAA, then the NFL should be obliged to take action.
Since the NFL told Williams that he was eligible for the draft and now the decision has been changed, they really put him in a tight spot.
The NFL has to realize that this situation is a completely different case from Clarett’s and by allowing Williams to enter the draft, the league will not concede that all underclassmen should be allowed into the league.
He is a top-flight athlete who would be the best player in college football next season and would probably lead the Trojans to another national title.
In the NFL, he would make an instant impact with his size and this ruling really hurt his chances.
Nothing positive can happen for Williams if he sits out a year.
His body needs to take hits in order for him to be ready to take the NFL punishment. A year with the physical play will really hurt his durability and his skills in general.
The NFL and the NCAA should understand that helping out Williams will be the exception, not the rule.