Maurice Clarett Said Getting Onstage With 50 Cent Was the Beginning Of The End

Maurice Clarett was once bigger than LeBron James.  However, his football career disintegrated after clashes with his Ohio State coaches, the NCAA, and the law.

In a new interview, Maurice Clarett recalled a notorious incident after his historic freshman season during which he got on stage at a 50 Cent show while wearing a bulletproof vest. He admitted the experience set him on a bad path which eventually led to disaster. [Jump to 3:30.]

"We gonna blame everything on 50," Clarett said with a laugh. " This was right after the season. He came to Ohio in 2003 in February.  LeBron and [Maverick Carter] were in Chicago. They had watched the Pistons and Chicago Bulls game.  They hit me and they were like 'we going to Cleveland State for a 50 Cent show'. This is massive mixtape 50 Cent. I think I'm a tough guy, I wanna go see 50. He like the father of tough guys. So 18, 19 years old, your impressible and you think you're tough.  We go to the arena ... it was infectious. So from there, I'm living like a celebrity. So just to have experience ... you get an ego and you having an experience you just can't pay for. Just being next to these guys on stage feeds into you feeling like your larger than when you started. You don't even feel like your off-track ... I never looked at it like I'm being malicious toward the NCAA. I looked like I'm just enjoying myself. I'm getting what belongs to me."

Clarett is actually doing very well these days. The 36-year-old is a public speaker and podcaster and founded a company that provides counseling and housing services for adults struggling with addiction.