Uneasy rests the head that wears the crown. When you’re Number One, you wear a target on your back and the whole world will want to take potshots at you.
Such is the situation that seems to be developing for The Ohio State University football program in the year after its national championship win.
Stories are beginning to come out that the NCAA is looking hard at some activities involving, or possibly involving, the Buckeye’s star running back Maurice Clarett.
NewsChannel 4 in Columbus is reporting that NCAA investigators perked up when they heard that $10,000 worth of property was taken from Clarett’s car recently.
The TV station said the police report listed the stolen property as $5,000 worth of electronic equipment, $800 cash, $4500 worth of CDs and a credit card.
Someone broke into the car while it was parked at Woody Hayes Athletic Center on the campus back in mid-April.
You can’t blame the NCAA. When a college sophomore drives around with $800 in his wallet and $5000 worth of stereo gear and is not from an extremely wealthy family, one has to wonder where it all came from.
The car, according to the report, is a 2001 Chevy, nothing suspicious about that. $4500 worth of CDs … sounds like a lot, but, at an average of $15 a piece, it amounts to 300 discs. Not an unlikely number of CDs for “today’s modern teenaged consumer.”
The cash? Well, maybe it was payday.
The Associated Press notes that earlier this month, Ohio State announced that it was looking into claims in a New York Times story that Clarett had been allowed to take a couple of history exams orally.
The Columbus Dispatch said a couple of weeks ago that athletic director Andy Geiger reported that the two meetings the NCAA had with Clarett dealt with his finances rather than his academic issues.
It’s an old story. A team makes it to the pinnacle of its sport, but soon charges of cheating, or at least rule violations, start coming out.
There is no shortage of green-eyed people out there with an ax to grind who are willing to whisper claims of impropriety.
What is a wonder is why, knowing that such scrutiny is sure to follow, are those improprieties allowed to occur, if they did? It seems that often, the claims are found to be true.
The rules are pretty plain, if strict, in spirit. And the NCAA has no qualms about enforcing those rules against the High and Mighty.
Clarett is a phenomenon. It’s great watching him play football for the Buckeyes. Unless actual evidence to the contrary is revealed, there is no real reason to assume that Clarett got a car full of $10,000 worth of stuff by anything other than legitimate means.
It would be a shame to find out otherwise.
Until then, Maurice, a word of advice.
Keep the subwoofer turned down.