Usually when Maurice Clarett makes the news now, it is not because of something wonderful he did on a football field. He hasn't played on one in months. Instead, on Sunday, fans were once again reminded of Clarett because of the poor decisions he makes off the gridiron. Clarett, who reprised his role as the wayward running back with a once promising future, was accused of two counts of aggravated robbery after allegedly holding two people up at the bar. It was hard to not to find the irony that the incident occurred on the same day that most pro football games are played.

  Too much, too soon.

Of course, at one point it was believed that Clarett was a lock to be a star on Sundays in the NFL after he put together a scintillating freshman campaign at Ohio State during which he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002. But almost as quickly as he became the toast of college football, his world came crashing down. He filed a false police report and was suspended from the school when he lied to an NCAA investigators about receiving improper benefits from a friend. Clarett then tried to drag the university down with him when he made allegations that he took cash from boosters and worked a bogus summer job.

As his college career was quickly coming to a close after one season, he tried desperately to gain eligibility for the NFL Draft before he was allowed to enter it. An appellate court denied his request. When he finally did qualify, Clarett turned in a horrible performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this year, running a sluggish 4.67-second 40-yard dash. Many thought he wouldn't be picked after such a terrible workout, but Denver took a gamble on him and selected the embattled running back. Not long after going to training camp, he hurt his groin and was cut in August. Teammates questioned his commitment in rehabilitating the injury, and even Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who has turned average running backs into great rushers, gave up on him. It appeared to be the last chapter that would be written in a story that would have no happy ending.

But then Sunday came along, and the tale of Clarett's fall from grace became darker. For an athlete who once seemed to have such a promising career aheads of him, it is sad to see it come to this. But like Roy Tarpley and Len Bias, who threw their futures away in another sport, Clarett couldn't handle so much success so soon. And that is why when Clarett makes headlines these days we are no longer surprised that he is in an alley instead of on a football field.