Why did Maurice Clarett leave Ohio State?

Ohio State suspended running back Maurice Clarett for the 2003 season citing 14 violations of the NCAA’s ethical conduct bylaws and two violations of Clarett’s receiving preferential treatment or benefits because he is an athlete.

Maurice Clarett played for one season at Ohio State. Clarett’s time at Ohio State University was marked by several troubling incidents. He was seen yelling at his position coach during the Northwestern-Ohio State game in the 2002 season.

In December 2002, he publicly maligned OSU officials for not paying for him to fly home for the funeral of a friend and accused administrators of lying when they said he did not file the necessary paperwork.

In July 2003, Clarett became the centre of an academic scandal when a teaching assistant told the New York Times that Clarett had received preferential treatment from professors, claiming he had not attended any classes during his only year at Ohio State.