Maurice Clarett, Blogger
Off the field, Clarett made his share of mistakes, but there was no denying his talent on the field.We got a tip on this earlier (thanks, Shawn!) but sat on it because, contrary to what some might think about bloggers, we’re not vapid, heartless bastards that delight in piling on people and we didn’t really want to see his comments section lit up by every troll near a keyboard making Goose and ha-ha tossing-salad prison jokes.
But now that Maurice Clarett’s blog has hit Deadspin (and other heavies), it’s pretty much out there and we wanted to weigh in on the situation.
We’re of the opinion that the blog is legit and as the previously linked-to Doc Saturday says:
If it’s a hoax, it’s among the most boring and elaborate hoaxes ever conceived, with no payoff.
Reading the blog, we find an inspired, thoughtful and knowledge-hungry man, seemingly intent on turning his life around. Look no further than his most recent post to get a feel for what’s going on:
I had a chance to sit down and speak to a young man who is 18 with a 13 year sentence. He has been in the same cell block as me for a few months and I’ve been observing how he has been coping with his sentence. It has been on my mind to sit with him and offer some suggestions on how he could reverse the order and start taking advantage of this solitude but I always came up with the excuse that I didn’t have the time. The truth was I didn’t want to make the time. I then thought, “What if all the people supporting me made the excuse, they didn’t have time?” I probably wouldn’t be where I am at mentally today.
We’re a little over six years from that most incredible of nights when Clarett was snatching the ball from Sean Taylor and two and a half years out from his night that ended in police spikes, the final episode of a sad spiral. He is eligible for early release next year. For now at least, he appears to be positioning himself to reenter society the right way and you can’t hate on a guy for that.
In all sincerity, i wish nothing but the best for Clarett, i was there for him when he brought OSU back to the to the top college football, and i’ll be there for him when he’s at his most humblest. I think anyone who calls themselves a buckeye fans owes him that much.
I hope he one day figures out what his looking for.
well put
Well Kris, I guess you could go on his blog and directly wish him the best…
Perhaps #13 could’ve joined Archie as a Two-Time Heisman Winner. What might have been.
so i took some time to read through the entries. Not all, just the ones that stood out, and I must say, his writing style is really good, it almost seems like it was ghost-written. But then you get to an entry like this http://mauriceclarett.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/the-truth-is/ and know that it really is heartfelt. Hopefully he really does come out of it a better person.
People have demons and issues… this guy had a horrible life prior to football at OSU (by all accounts) and he never dealt with his issues… he was a prima donna in football programs and never felt he had to be part of the team.. he was entitled. For Clarrett it ended very badly and it is a shame because he could have been successful on many levels. I truly hope he has realized his mistakes and doesn’t repeat them. I also hope someone has paid off that Israeli mobster so that he doesn’ t get whacked upon his release.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2553084
Good luck, Beast. There is much of life still waiting for you.
true dat. hes got a lotta life in front of him. hope he figures it out
Even tho I truly hope that he does turn his life around, I’m sticking to my guns that nobody should wear the old #13 jersey to any important game.
I watch the games @ a local bar here in Albany with a whole slew of alumni and one guy, for every big game this year (USC, PSU, TX) wore his 13 jersey……UGH! we all know how that turned out
Not disagreeing, just wonder why you feel that way ski??
Just superstition I guess. No real solid reason behind it. If you ask “GO BLUE” its because Im a moron. LOL
He was a major factor in giving us the greatest season in 40 years or so, possibly the greatest season in Buckeye history. There were so many classic games that year, I dont think anyone will ever forget the “holy buckeye” play at Purdue, I think I aged 10 years during that game alone.
“Holy Buckeye” was my gf’s first taste of the obsession. I flipped out that day after the catch.
Thats gotta be top 5 all time best games on my personal list.
I echo Nik’s sentiments on the writing style being too good that it suggests a ghost-writer. I’d love if it weren’t because I don’t find any humor in seeing a guy like MoC down in the dumps for the rest of his life. More power to him if this is him conveying his thoughts while enrolled in a prison program via Ohio University’s Geriatrics and Gerontology department. I hope he follows through with that.
I also see he’s reading some philosophy too… like real philosophy. Some heavy hitters were mentioned by him: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Descartes, Spinoza, or Hume. Very cool.
Clarret was an awesome show while he lasted tho. And I will NEVER forget the heroic stipping of the ball to keep us in the game in ‘02.
The strip was classic, I’ll never forget the catch in the Michigan game that set up Mo Hall’s TD.
I was truly saddened by the way he went out, he came from nothing, I would have loved to see what could of been.
Maybe some of you guys know him better than I, but I wonder why no one thinks he wrote this himsel, maybe he used the aid of a teacher in prison.
So you know Im a Corrections Officer in the state of Ohio. and this is completely Bull shit. 1. Maurice Clarett is heald in protective custody. also known as administrative ad-seg. Because other inmates would kill him just to get the rep for doing it. 2. No inmate is allowed access to a computer. The only way he could be doing the Blog is if he is writing everything on paper and sending it to someone else to type. I can see Maurice wanting to clear his name. I was one of the first people he saw while at CRC when he was there. Maurice was always respectful. and never gave any one any problems. just my 2 cents
Sucks to be you, sugartits.
Where in the hell do you get off insulting this guy? He’s just providing info. His taxes are probably helping to pay for your student housing. Most likely never got to go to the “Shoe”for a game but is still a die-hard Buckeye fan, like hundreds of thousands of other working people. BM.
When I say ghost-writer, i don’t mean it’s a hoax or anything, but like Adam said, maybe he’s writing it and sending it or telling someone over the phone, who’s then rewording it to look better, kinda like a PR guy or something. Like they’re his thoughts, but not his words.
This is why I read this blog, because you dont look for stories, or make them up for that matter, with the intent to prove you are right about someone or something. There was not many Clarett fans after what transpired it is good to see him with decent press.
I noticed one glaring omission from the Clarett blog. There is not one comment posted that is critical of his ridiculous behavior. I guess if you just want to waste you time reading the musings of a criminal who caught “prison religion” then go ahead. If he were a real man, he would allow the many and vaious, sometimes negative, thoughts and feelings of those who have spent time to look at his blog to be displayed, not just the hand-picked, happy-talk comments that it is limited to now. Until then, Maurice Clarett remains in denial.
Or, you know, he sucks at taking criticism. Like 90% of people.