I am not an accountant.  That said, I would really like to get an accounting of all of the costs, both direct and indirect, that his completely absurd allegations actually cost Ohio State.  Since the NCAA found nothing of merit or credibility associated with his charges -  this second time around - that confirms for me at least that he knew they were without merit at the time he made them.  If he knew they were false from the beginning, he therefore “caused” the university to have to defend itself against allegations and horrific media innuendos of perceived guilt associated with those claims.

When Clarett’s article came out, I believed without question that Jim Tressel would never have sanctioned or permitted (even tacitly) any behavior that even remotely smelled “funny.”  Not because he is above the law, but because Jim Tressel’s watch doesn’t include dishonesty.  

Let’s see, where should we start when tabulating the cost of Clarett-Gate? 

•Internal and external legal fees? 

•University personnel dedicated to their own investigation of these assertions?

•Travel expenses associated with the investigation?

•Clarett occupying a scholarship for whatever time period?

•The effects of a reduction in goodwill in the national sports media, recruits, etc.?

•How about the air time occupied by Mike Tirico during his 2004 Alamo Bowl tirade in the second quarter and the affects on goodwill associated with his personal diatribe on that broadcast (which essentially was about how guilty Ohio State was of football infractions, in particular, since we WERE watching a football game)?

•The cost of any hired investigators and their T&E expenses?

•Loss of sleep by Andy Geiger?

•Probable loss of job for Andy Geiger?

•Loss of sleep by Jim Tressel and the coaching staff?

•Pain and suffering by faithful alumni?

•What if any drop in donations or loss of sales in OSU merchandise?

•Time and expenses of NCAA personnel to conduct Clarett-related investigation?

I am sure there is more to the list – I have just run out of ideas and interest in thinking about it further. 

My point in all of this is very simple: Apparently, Clarett knew his allegations were without merit or fact (since the NCAA found nothing when specifically looking for them).  As a result, the university suffered tremendously.  Their suffering was in the form of public exposure, credibility, media attention and clearly, significant time and cost.  None of the suffering and costs would have been incurred without his malicious and knowingly false assertions.  This is not right. 

The costs must be staggering.  I suspect, no one knows the real costs.  Perhaps we don’t WANT to know – perhaps they are that bad.  Perhaps, we just drop it and move on.  The only problem I have with doing that (we just move on) is Maurice Clarett would be getting yet another pass at the expense of someone other than himself.  That is not right.

So, we are back to the original question:  Where do we send the bill for the damages you caused, Maurice?

Pat

Where do we send your bill, Maurice?

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