Judge Rules For Clarett

Just when Paul Tagliabue thought his week couldn't get any worse, it did:

Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett was ruled eligible for the NFL draft Thursday by a federal judge who concluded that the league's rule violates antitrust laws.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ordered the NFL to let Clarett enter April's draft, a decision that could clear the way for others. The league will appeal. . .

Alan Milstein, a lawyer for Clarett, called Thursday's decision "a total victory" and said Clarett was "thrilled." Clarett was travelling to New York for a news conference later Thursday, Milstein said.

Wow. Here's an excerpt from the judge's ruling:

The league had argued that Clarett should not be eligible because its rule resulted from a collective bargaining agreement with the players and is immune from antitrust scrutiny. The NFL also argued that its rule is reasonable and that Clarett cannot bring such a lawsuit.

"While, ordinarily, the best offence is a good defence, none of these defences hold the line," the judge wrote in a 70-page ruling.

She said Clarett could bring the lawsuit because he was fighting a policy that excludes all players in his position from selling their services to the only viable buyer - the NFL.

"The NFL has not justified Clarett's exclusion by demonstrating that the rule enhances competition. Indeed, Clarett has alleged the very type of injury - a complete bar to entry into the market for this services - that the antitrust laws are designed to prevent," she said.

Here's Skip Oliva on the decision:

It’s always a sad day when a federal judge decides what “enhances competition” in the private sector. I just heard comments on the Clarett decision on ESPN Radio where Tony Kornheiser and Andy Pollin—two men who have no concept of what this country is about—lauded the ruling as an obvious remedy for Clarett’s injustice. Kornheiser said the judge upheld Clarett’s “civil rights”—as if the men who died at Yorktown, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima gave their lives so Maurice Clarett could force the NFL to hire him against its will.

Skip continues:

Judge Sheindlin says it's wrong for the NFL to make a blanket assumption that all players below a certain age are incapable of playing in the league. She suggested there were "less restrictive" alternatives for individually assessing players. But that's not the point. The issue is whether the NFL can decide for itself what employment policies to maintain, or whether the league's business judgment can be arbitrarily second-guessed by a federal judge.

More later. . .

UPDATE: ESPN.com's SportsNation held a live chat on the decision. Fox Sports has posted reactions from a variety of their readers, including this one:

I believe that an individual has a right to earn a living. If a NFL team does not feel that Maurice Clarett is ready to play in the NFL, (follow) my suggestion: Do not draft him.

And if that were to happen, we'd have another lawsuit, except this time the charge would be collusion. Pitt wideout Larry Fitzgerald, who was given a special waiver to become eligible for the 2004 Draft, isn't saying anything.

Here's the official response from the NCAA:

"From an education perspective, we are disappointed with the decision," NCAA spokeswoman Kay Hawes said. "It is too early to know how or how soon this will affect college football, but it clearly opens the door to more football student-athletes leaving college early and without degrees."

From an education perspective? Since when does big time college football have anything to do with education? From a business perspective, the decision is a disaster for both the NFL and the NCAA. Recruiting becomes that much more vicious, as college football coaches have to deal with the same reality as their counterparts in basketball -- the best kids just aren't going to hang around.

As for the NFL, their relationship with their free developmental league (the NCAA) is now under attack, and teams will probably have to pay a number of players high salaries just to sit on the bench while teams wait for them to mature.

One last thought: today's decision is going to be appealed. By no means is this story over. But at the end of the day, the NFL and the NCAA have nobody to blame but themselves.

Eric 01:58 PM

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Tracked on February 6, 2004 11:04 AM