Should he be?

Common sense says no. A 20-year-old, injury-prone running back with one year of college experience is not ready, physically or mentally, for 20 games of professional football. "On the field, the abuse is above and beyond anything he can imagine'' was how Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett put it, to the New York Times.

It wouldn't help Clarett that lots of veterans would see him as a threat to their long-term job security, and react accordingly. Ah, Maurice, that was your knee?

What's fascinating about this case is, both sides make a good one. Clarett's lawyer, Alan Milstein, argued that the NFL uses colleges as a "free and efficient'' farm system. Milstein called college football "a willing partner'' in the enterprise.

True.

Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, has said, "We believe there should be requirements that kids stay in school a certain amount of time. We also believe there is a safety issue.''

Also true.

The district court judge, Shira Scheindlin, ruled that keeping Clarett from entering the draft violated antitrust law and prevented him from earning a living. Sounds reasonable. Though, presumably, Clarett could do something else.

The appeals court decided it hadn't had enough time to weigh in on all this. It also said that any harm done Clarett could be redressed by a supplemental draft, if Clarett's appeal of the appeal is successful.

Sounds reasonable.

So where does that leave us?

The NFL is not a monolithic ogre, intent on allowing colleges to do the work that major league baseball teams have to pay for, with the minor leagues. There really are safety concerns. And frankly, Clarett hasn't shown he's anything but a highly skilled knucklehead.

An NFLPA study, recently released, found that the three teams with the highest percentage of college grads on their rosters last season were New England, Carolina and Indianapolis. Two were in the Super Bowl; Indy made the AFC title game. Maturity, physical and emotional, has its rewards.

On the other hand ...

Who is the NFL to keep a man from trying to make a living in his chosen field? If Clarett fails, that's his problem. He should be allowed that option.

What it comes down to, or should come down to, is this:

In this country, you have a right to choose. You also have a right to fail, if the choice you make is unwise. Marge Schott chose to slur ethnics. That was her free-speech right. She paid a price for it. That was her failure, and her responsibility.

Would Maurice Clarett be a better NFL running back had he stayed at Ohio State the required three years after his high school eligibility expired? Yup. With a body like that and instincts like those, two more years at OSU and he's buying his mom a house at the beach.

Clarett made a huge mistake, accepting money and then leaving OSU. He didn't help himself at the NFL Draft combine, though he did do better at private workouts. Still, he left most NFL observers scratching their heads. He'd have been no better than a third-round pick. Two years from now, he'd have been a first-round no-brainer.

But does Clarett have the right to make a bad decision? Of course he does. In America, you are free to choose. You just have to accept the consequences.

Clarett got lucky, at least temporarily. The appeals court decided to protect him from his own bad choices. The rest is up to him.

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E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com