By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

As Ohio State continues to delay its response to the NCAA's allegations against Maurice Clarett, the Clarett family's attorney spoke publicly Thursday about suing the NFL for early entrance in the 2004 draft.

Alan C. Milstein, a lawyer in Pennsauken, N.J., said that is among the options the tailback and his mother, Michelle Clarett, are considering, along with accepting a suspension or transferring to another school.

Suggesting strained relations between the family and Ohio State, Milstein described Clarett's mother as "distraught" about the school's handling of the matter, and said Clarett is "frustrated at this whole process."

OSU released a statement Thursday saying its report to the NCAA wouldn't be completed this week. Athletic director Andy Geiger had previously said that discoveries of new problems concerning Clarett were slowing the process.

Milstein said the Clarett family would wait for the NCAA's decision on the length of a suspension before deciding what to do. The NFL requires players to be out of high school for three years, meaning Clarett wouldn't be eligible until the 2005 draft. A challenge of that rule has been painted as risky because a court test could be lengthy, but Milstein doesn't buy that.

"(The rule) will fall when it gets challenged, because of antitrust rules," Milstein said. "There are no facts in dispute; it's just a matter of if the rule is lawful. ... I don't see how it would take forever."