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(Merged x 3) Williams & Clarett Temporarily Ruled Ineligible


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I think its the right move. This is not an antitrust issue. This was a clause in the collective bargaining agreement that was agreed on by NFL owners AND players.

It would be a bit ironic that these two guys would be allowed to go against the very same document that protects them as players in the league dontcha think?

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Should not affect the top 5. Williams stock was dropping real fast before this ruling due to his pedestrian 40 time. This should not affect our plans at the #5 spot.

The supplemental draft works like the regular draft, but there are only a few players available. There are seven rounds, but teams do not have to make a single pick in any round. So if a team chooses a player in the first round, then the following year they lose that pick in the real draft.

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This ruling will really help the Skins if they decide to trade the pick to someone who was hoping for one of the stud WR's falling to them.

3 teams that really could be interesting are the Falcons, Jags, and Jets who all need a WR and still have high enough picks in which the Skins could still get a Wilfok, Harris, or even Taylor.

This is a great situation...

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oh damn, I totally assumed the appeal would go through in their favor... got any links?

Ah well, this doesnt change things for us hopefully. I had Fitzgerald ahead of Williams, and Clarett going somewhere in the 5th-6th :laugh:

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Here is the link to the ESPN.com article. I sort of feel bad for Mike Williams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft04/news/story?id=1785560

Monday, April 19, 2004

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A stay was granted Monday by a federal appeals court until it rules on the NFL's appeal of an earlier decision that allowed Maurice Clarett and eventually Mike Williams to be part of the draft, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports.

A stay in the proceedings technically will keep Clarett and Williams out of the draft Saturday at least temporarily, but a ruling could come down in their favor beforehand, which would make both eligible to be selected. If Clarett and Williams are declared eligible for the draft after it takes place, the NFL already has said the two would be part of a supplemental draft.

The ruling was faxed to all parties in the case only hours after the court heard the league's arguments, Pasquarelli reports. The ruling is expected to be announced later Monday afternoon. It's possible that Clarett, Williams and seven other undistinguished underclassmen could seek further recourse from the courts, but more unlikely that they can have the stay overturned before the draft begins.

Sources told Pasquarelli that there is a possibility that the parties could arrive at a middle ground -- perhaps a settlement that would permit Clarett and Williams to be included in a supplemental draft.

Federal appeals court judges and an NFL lawyer suggested that Clarett could go into a supplemental draft if he's ruled out of the main draft. The issue of the supplemental draft came up after the three judges questioned Clarett's lawyer, Alan Milstein, about whether the NFL must accept players who don't meet negotiated eligibility rules.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan asked Milstein why the NFL cannot exclude young athletes, suggesting the league was saying, "It's good for them, good for us and in the long run good for the sport."

Judge Sonia Sotomayer said it was not surprising that the union would agree to exclude players such as Clarett. "That's what unions do every day -- protect people in the union from those not in the union," she said.

Clarett, who played as a freshman at Ohio State and was ineligible as a sophomore, challenged the NFL rule that requires a player to be out of high school for three years before entering the draft. Southern Cal sophomore Mike Williams, who declared for the draft after a lower court ruled in Clarett's favor, also would be affected if the appeals court blocks Clarett.

Seven others also declared for the draft after the initial ruling, but none is a prospect.

Some kind of ruling is expected from the appeals court before the NFL draft, which is Saturday and Sunday.

U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled in February that Clarett should be allowed in the draft. She said the rule excluding him violates antitrust law and unjustly blocks a player from pursuing his livelihood.

The appeals court could temporarily suspend Scheindlin's ruling until it issues its own full written decision. NFL lawyer Gregg A. Levy confirmed Monday what league officials said earlier: If a subsequent ruling makes Clarett eligible, the league later could hold a supplemental draft, something the NFL has done in the past for players who entered the draft late.

Ohio State suspended Clarett before last season for accepting money from a family friend and for lying about it to NCAA and university investigators.

In 2003, he rushed for 1,237 yards and led the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Clarett maintained he was not subject to the NFL's "three years out of high school" rule because it was not properly negotiated and because he was not in the union.

Milstein said Monday the NFL can't argue that players such as Clarett are not physically ready to play professionally. Williams is expected to be a first-round pick Saturday; Clarett is expected to be chosen in the second or third round.

"The teams are lining up to hire these guys ... because the teams know these players are ready to play," Milstein said.

He said only a "group boycott" by NFL teams would keep Clarett out of the league.

Milstein also argued that the NFL uses colleges as a "free and efficient" farm system for developing players.

"All of the risk is on the player," he wrote in court papers. "College football is a willing partner in this arrangement, as it generates millions of dollars for the colleges without their having to incur the expense of player salaries."

In written arguments, Levy told the appeals court that Scheindlin's ruling was "fundamentally inconsistent with both established economic principles and common sense."

He said the judge "strained to reach a decision that not only cannot be justified under this court's precedents but is also economically senseless."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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In regards to the supplemental draft, if they're allowed in by then than the Chargers would be on the clock in Rd. #1. Let's say that S.D., Oak, Arizona, and the G-men pass on Williams in the 1st round..... hoping to get him with a 2nd or 3rd next year. Could the Redskins take him and sacrifice what appears to be a mid to late 1st round pick NEXT YEAR?

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Although Mike Williams wasn't going in the first 5 picks, this does change the landscape of the draft. Why?

Roy Williams. He has been rising lately due to his 40 time and a team that thought they could get him in the top 10 now must be concerned someone will jump up to nab him. If M. Williams was still there, maybe they wait it out to see if he falls to them.

Even in some mock drafts, Roy was said to be rumored to be a top 5 pick possibly Arizona or Oakland. So the #5 pick becomes IMO, a really hot spot.

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I doubt the Chargers would select Williams in the supplemental draft because they would have to give up their 1st round pick next year. The Raiders may though. The only way I see a team selecting Williams in the supplemental draft is if they think their first round pick next year (2005) will not be very high.

What about the Redskins selecting Williams in the supplemental draft? They may feel with Gibbs, they will be selecting low in the 1st round in '05. He could be seen as great value for the Skins and the Skins would have the 5th pick in the supplemental draft. They may be in a unique situation to take him.

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