Tweet
Maurice Clarett to use NFL rule against league
While still fighting vigorously to eliminate the NFL practice of keeping talented young college players from entering the league, Maurice Clarett has found another angle that could get him into the 2004 April draft: The league's own rule.
In papers filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in New York, attorneys for Clarett state that the NFL has been misleading the public, as well as Clarett, about the actual language of the league bylaw that prohibits early entry to many college players.
When the rule was adopted in February 1990, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue issued a press release saying players could only enter the draft after "three full college seasons" had elapsed since their high school graduation. Over the past decade, the notion that players must wait three years has become widely accepted.
However, as noted by Clarett's attorneys, the formal language of Section 12.1(E) of the bylaws is: "For college football players seeking special eligibility, at least three NFL seasons must have elapsed since the player was graduated from high school."
Clarett graduated from high school early, on Dec. 11, 2001. That's eight weeks before the 2001 NFL season concluded, including the playoffs. So if one includes the league's 2001 season along with the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Clarett should be permitted to enter the upcoming draft, his attorneys contend.
"In Clarett's case, he would be ineligible under the press release rule but eligible under the Rule as actually drafted by the NFL," wrote Clarett's four-person legal team led by New Jersey anti-trust lawyer Alan Milstein.
The NFL, in its response before Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, does not dispute the actual language as the bylaw as quoted by Clarett's attorneys. But the league does take issue with the definition of the term "elapsed," which it says means the end of a season that began after a player graduated. Besides, the NFL argues, Tagliabue, as commissioner, has the right to interpret NFL rules in whatever manner he wishes.
"So Mr. Milstein is telling the commissioner that he didn't interpret our own rule correctly," said Greg Aiello, NFL spokesman.
Clarett, who led Ohio State to the national championship as a freshman running back in 2002, sued the NFL in September after Ohio State officials declared him ineligible to play this season for alleged violations of NCAA rules.
His lawsuit contends that the NFL uses the early-entry rule as a way to avoid the farm-system costs that Major League Baseball and other leagues must incur to develop players. It argues that "college football is a willing partner in this cozy arrangement as it generates millions of dollars for the colleges without their having to incur the expense of player salaries.
"Players who are otherwise able to compete with the best in their profession must bide their time on the farm working for nothing," the papers said.
Clarett's lawyers note that no other professional league has such a restrictive rule.
In its most recent motion, the NFL agrees that Clarett, as a running back coveted by pro teams, has been harmed by the league policy. Instead, the league has chosen to argue the case more narrowly on legal precedents in anti-trust law, adding that the use of its salary cap, as collectively bargained by the union, means that the league in this case is exempt from federal law as it speaks to unfair restraint of trade.
"[Clarett] has not alleged, and could not possibly prove that the NFL's eligibility rule has an adverse impact on competition in the relevant market, the market for professional football players' services," the NFL lawyers wrote.
The NFL said Clarett's claim amounts "to an allegation that the eligibility rule will enable another player to secure a roster position and compensation that, in plaintiff's view, should be his own."
The league, which has told Clarett he is not eligible for the NFL draft until 2005, has asked that the case be tossed out. The judge is expected to rule by Feb. 1, in time for Clarett to begin preparing for the upcoming draft.
Source: ap
In papers filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in New York, attorneys for Clarett state that the NFL has been misleading the public, as well as Clarett, about the actual language of the league bylaw that prohibits early entry to many college players.
When the rule was adopted in February 1990, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue issued a press release saying players could only enter the draft after "three full college seasons" had elapsed since their high school graduation. Over the past decade, the notion that players must wait three years has become widely accepted.
However, as noted by Clarett's attorneys, the formal language of Section 12.1(E) of the bylaws is: "For college football players seeking special eligibility, at least three NFL seasons must have elapsed since the player was graduated from high school."
Clarett graduated from high school early, on Dec. 11, 2001. That's eight weeks before the 2001 NFL season concluded, including the playoffs. So if one includes the league's 2001 season along with the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Clarett should be permitted to enter the upcoming draft, his attorneys contend.
"In Clarett's case, he would be ineligible under the press release rule but eligible under the Rule as actually drafted by the NFL," wrote Clarett's four-person legal team led by New Jersey anti-trust lawyer Alan Milstein.
The NFL, in its response before Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, does not dispute the actual language as the bylaw as quoted by Clarett's attorneys. But the league does take issue with the definition of the term "elapsed," which it says means the end of a season that began after a player graduated. Besides, the NFL argues, Tagliabue, as commissioner, has the right to interpret NFL rules in whatever manner he wishes.
"So Mr. Milstein is telling the commissioner that he didn't interpret our own rule correctly," said Greg Aiello, NFL spokesman.
Clarett, who led Ohio State to the national championship as a freshman running back in 2002, sued the NFL in September after Ohio State officials declared him ineligible to play this season for alleged violations of NCAA rules.
His lawsuit contends that the NFL uses the early-entry rule as a way to avoid the farm-system costs that Major League Baseball and other leagues must incur to develop players. It argues that "college football is a willing partner in this cozy arrangement as it generates millions of dollars for the colleges without their having to incur the expense of player salaries.
"Players who are otherwise able to compete with the best in their profession must bide their time on the farm working for nothing," the papers said.
Clarett's lawyers note that no other professional league has such a restrictive rule.
In its most recent motion, the NFL agrees that Clarett, as a running back coveted by pro teams, has been harmed by the league policy. Instead, the league has chosen to argue the case more narrowly on legal precedents in anti-trust law, adding that the use of its salary cap, as collectively bargained by the union, means that the league in this case is exempt from federal law as it speaks to unfair restraint of trade.
"[Clarett] has not alleged, and could not possibly prove that the NFL's eligibility rule has an adverse impact on competition in the relevant market, the market for professional football players' services," the NFL lawyers wrote.
The NFL said Clarett's claim amounts "to an allegation that the eligibility rule will enable another player to secure a roster position and compensation that, in plaintiff's view, should be his own."
The league, which has told Clarett he is not eligible for the NFL draft until 2005, has asked that the case be tossed out. The judge is expected to rule by Feb. 1, in time for Clarett to begin preparing for the upcoming draft.
Source: ap