Howard transfer closes book on Clemson chapter in Ray Ray story

By Chris Preston  |   Friday, July 04, 2008  |  Comments( 4 )

Clemson Tigers
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Ray Ray McElrathbey’s decision to play out his final two years of eligibility at Howard University signaled the end of a complicated saga for the Clemson University football program. Most know Ray Ray’s name by now – even Oprah, who invited him on her show two years ago – and his story.

It was in 2006 when the then-Clemson backup running back gained national attention for nobly assuming full custody of his 11-year-old brother, Fahmarr, in an effort to rescue him from a mother addicted to drugs and a father addicted to gambling. To help Ray Ray support his younger brother, Clemson petitioned the NCAA to make an exception to its extra benefits rule by allowing the school to set up a trust fund reportedly totaling more than $100,000 for its running back. It was the feel-good story of the 2006 season, and it touched people nationwide – not just college football fans.

So naturally when Tigers head coach Tommy Bowden decided to strip McElrathbey of his football scholarship this past March, it was a PR nightmare for the Clemson program. Plenty of columnists and TV talking heads got on their high horses and took Bowden and Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips to task. But the issue wasn’t so cut and dry.

While the school did in fact take McElrathbey's football scholarship away, as a consolation it also offered him financial aid and a position as a graduate assistant coach as he continued to pursue his degree at Clemson. Some perceived Clemson’s decision to not welcome the runner back to its football program as nothing more than a cold, calculating maneuver designed to free up a scholarship being wasted on an oft-injured player who had barely gotten off the bench in his three years as a Tiger. That couldn’t have been the case. Not only has the Tigers’ staff been racking up on the recruiting trail lately – Rivals ranked their incoming freshman class as the 12th best in the country, and it currently ranks the Tigers' 2009 class eighth – but the school had to realize that such a move would attract a wave of negative publicity. The decision was based on other factors. McElrathbey reportedly missed more than his fair share of team functions and was occasionally at odds with the Clemson coaching staff.

Whether those transgressions are enough to strip the kid of a scholarship is up for debate. But few people can question the school’s sympathy for Ray Ray’s situation, given the generosity of the trust fund and the various alternatives it presented him with after terminating his scholarship. In the end, McElrathbey's decision to transfer was probably best for both parties.
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