| Maurice Clarett became a household name | | | | argument focusing on the lack of age restrictions |
| amongst college football fans in the fall of 2002 | | | | in almost every other profession, including many |
| when he emerged as the freshmen running back | | | | professional sports like tennis, golf, baseball, etc. |
| sensation of the high profile Ohio State University | | | | Maurice initially won a ruling stating that the NFL |
| (OSU) Buckeyes football team that went onto | | | | must allow him to participate in the NFL Draft but |
| win the college football national championship in | | | | the decision was ultimately overturned in the |
| double overtime against the University of Miami in | | | | appeals process. Maurice was barred from |
| the Fiesta Bowl. Sadly for Maurice and his | | | | entered the 2004 NFL Draft and because he hired |
| supporters his life would take a decidedly downhill | | | | an agent while waiting for the legal process to run |
| turn following the pinnacle of hoisting the national | | | | its course he was banned by the NCAA from |
| championship trophy on January 3, 2003. | | | | participating any further with Ohio State |
| Winning the national championship in Phoenix in | | | | University (or any other college) because hiring an |
| January of 2003 was the conclusion of a perfect | | | | agent is an infringement on his amateur status as |
| 13-0 season that ended with Ohio State silencing | | | | a student athlete by NCAA rules. |
| critics that had marked the Buckeyes as 11.5 | | | | As a result of the legal opinion given by Judge |
| point underdogs going into the Fiesta Bowl game. | | | | Sonia Sotomayor with the United States Court of |
| At the conclusion of that football season the | | | | Appeals for the Second Circuit Maurice was |
| future looked extraordinarily bright for freshmen | | | | forced to sit out a year before entering the 2005 |
| standout Maurice Clarett. A series of events over | | | | NFL Draft. As some readers may realize the |
| the next few years reversed the fortunes of this | | | | judge who gave an opinion denying Clarett the |
| once promising young man. | | | | right to enter the NFL as soon as he wished was |
| Born in Youngstown, Ohio in October of 1983 | | | | the women who in 2009 would be nominated by |
| Maurice would grow into a stout 5'11 234 pound | | | | President Barack Obama to become the first |
| running back with surprising speed and agility for | | | | Latino woman to ever serve on the United |
| his size. After being voted by the Associated | | | | States Supreme Court. |
| Press as the most outstanding high school football | | | | Despite an unimpressive NFL Combine |
| player in the state of Ohio in 2001 as a student at | | | | performance leading up to the 2005 NFL Draft |
| Warren G. Harding High School Clarett went onto | | | | Maurice Clarett was selected by the Denver |
| win a national championship in his freshmen year | | | | Broncos with the final pick of the third round, |
| of college at Ohio State and immediately | | | | much higher than many analysts expected him to |
| attempted to enter the NFL Draft after his first | | | | go. Maurice entered preseason workouts with the |
| year of college. | | | | Denver Broncos overweight and his seemingly |
| Clarett, unsuccessfully challenged a NFL rule that | | | | lack of motivation contributed to him being |
| mandates that players entering the NFL must be | | | | released by the organization before ever playing |
| at least three years removed from their | | | | even a single preseason game. No other NFL |
| graduating high school class. The age restriction | | | | team ever picked up Maurice Clarett after he was |
| was challenged on the basis of ageism with the | | | | released by Denver on August 28, 2005. |