T1B

Warning: What follows may be hazardous to your belief in happy endings.

If you remember the uplifting story of Ray Ray McElrathbey, the Clemson running back who rescued his younger brother from a bleak home life two years ago by bringing the boy to live with him and becoming his legal guardian, you may not want to know about the latest developments in his saga, which aren't nearly so heartwarming. This is the world of big-time college athletics and, sooner or later, that world almost always turns cold.

McElrathbey first gained national attention in 2006, after taking over custody of his brother Fahmarr, who was 11 at the time. Fahmarr had been in and out of foster care in Atlanta for much of his childhood -- just as Ray Ray had -- because of their father's gambling problems and their mother's addiction to crack cocaine. Once McElrathbey was settled at Clemson with a football scholarship, he decided to help his little brother escape that life as well by giving Fahmarr a stable home -- his own.

It was a sweet story made sweeter by the normally soulless NCAA, which granted the financially strapped McElrathbey a waiver allowing him to accept monetary aid from the university and the public in the form of a trust fund for Fahmarr, as well as home care from coaches' families for him while Ray Ray in class or at practice. McElrathbey was widely and deservedly praised for character and maturity beyond his years and Clemson was credited for having a football program with a heart.

But that happy tale took a disheartening turn earlier this week when Clemson announced that McElerathbey's scholarship would not be renewed even though he has two more years of eligibility remaining. Contrary to popular belief, football scholarships are not guaranteed four-year rides, but year-to-year deals that can be pulled at the school's discretion.

Although Clemson coach Tommy Bowden has been vague in his explanations, it appears that he pulled McElrathbey's scholarship because, after signing 25 new recruits last month, the Tigers had to take away some existing scholarships to stay under the NCAA maximum of 85. With several running backs ahead of him on the depth chart, Ray Ray became expendable. "We're pretty good at running back right now," coach Tommy Bowden said, as if that was the only issue.

Cold-blooded? Heartless? You bet. Having one more scholarship to hand out isn't going to change Clemson's program in any significant way, but losing it certainly could change Ray Ray and Fahmarr's lives.

Ray Ray now has the choice of transferring to another school to finish his eligibility (if he can find one willing to offer him a scholarship), or he could finish his degree requirements over the summer, enroll in graduate school at Clemson and accept an offer to become a football graduate assistant, a position that would pay for his tuition, but not his room and board.

In short, the McElrathbey brothers' lives are again up in the air thanks to Bowden's lack of compassion. Apparently having an extra inside linebacker or tight end is more important to him than showing loyalty to a young man who has given three years of effort to the program -- to someone trying to raise a teenager.

McElrathbey hasn't spoken publicly since the decision. Teammate and friend James Davis suggests he doesn't want to speak negatively about Clemson for fear it would discourage other schools from offering him a scholarship. If that's the case, at least it indicates that McElrathbey is planning on leaving Clemson behind, which is the smart thing to do, since Clemson has done exactly that to him.

Fear not for the McElrathbey brothers. They have overcome far greater obstacles than this one, and it's unlikely that they will let Clemson's callous decision derail them for long.

Whatever the future holds, Ray Ray should be remembered at Clemson as a young man who understood the meaning of commitment and character. A college is supposed to provide its students with an education but, in the end, it's a shame that Clemson's program didn't learn more from him.

Snake wrote:One word........Bowden.......

Oh he'll burn in hell for this one......

By Gene Sapakoff (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, March 12, 2008


Like everything else in the Ray Ray McElrathbey saga, the latest chapter started poorly and got better.

Maybe Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden and school officials made it up as they went along over the last few days. Finally (we think), it was announced (if quite clumsily) that the college football player made famous for gaining custody of his younger brother, Fahmarr, has the opportunity next year to work toward a graduate degree while he serves as an assistant in the school's athletic department.

Technically, Bowden did not revoke McElrathbey's scholarship in that McElrathbey is allowed to continue his studies without having to cut large checks to Clemson.

Bowden, however, terminated McElrathbey's Clemson football career by at the very least strongly discouraging the Atlanta native from participating in the program. McElrathbey can keep his full football scholarship until he graduates in August with a sociology degree that will have been impressively gained in just over three years on campus.

To some, it qualifies as a classic case of "running off" a running back who has more eligibility.

And what a public relations nightmare, right?

Showing the love

I mean, Ray Ray was a guest on Oprah.

He was virtually a regular feature during televised Clemson games in 2006 after The Post and Courier's Larry Williams was the first to report his touching story.

But Bowden and Terry Don Phillips, Clemson's athletic director/law professor, didn't arrive in Pickens County in the back of poultry trucks (not that there's anything wrong with a dependable poultry truck).

On some level, and probably several, cutting football ties with Ray Ray was weighed heavily against perception, reality and that nebulous in between. Bowden keeps declining elaborative comment, so we must theorize. It's quite possible Bowden and others at Clemson can live with themselves knowing Ray Ray since signing on the orange dotted line came into a sweet trust fund, was embraced by the Clemson community and got to tell his story on ABC's World News Tonight and in Sports Illustrated.

Donations came in from all over. For example, Virginia football players pitched in when defensive lineman Chris Long shook down his teammates and mailed the money to the Fahmarr fund.

Fade to orange

It's possible the coaching staff is doing McElrathbey a favor by not saying why he no longer is wanted as a football player.

It's definitely not a stretch to say a non-professional football prospect in charge of a young teen might be better off moving on to the college-degreed work force or graduate work without having to worry about a relatively frivolous pursuit.

By the way, Bowden gets custody of another football scholarship, which might come in handy some Saturday down the line against Virginia Tech. But cynics have to know there are players he could have run off without having to answer so many questions.

No, this isn't the way the Ray Ray football story was supposed to end.

It should have gone something like ...


"Ray Ray McElrathbey in at tailback here in Chestnut Hill as the Tigers, down four, try to fight through snow flurries, the aroma of yummy Italian food and a tough Boston College defense with five seconds left on fourth-and-goal at the 2 ... Harper pump fakes to new tight end Trevor Booker, gives to Ray Ray and he scores! There's purple in the end zone!"

Fade to black.

Or orange.

In a real world all too familiar to McElrathbey, a degree and graduate study isn't a bad alternate ending to his Clemson experience.

Adelpiero wrote:

Snake wrote:One word........Bowden.......

Oh he'll burn in hell for this one......

they all will

Dinsdale wrote:The local sports hacks (who put on an excellent show, which I rarely say about radio hacks) today were telling the story about a Clemson recruit who put a pic on his Myspace with him holding huge stacks of money, which has since been taken down.

Anyone have that pic, link, or any info?

The local scrubs were saying it may have been the singlemost stupid thing they've ever seen a new recruit do.

PSUFAN wrote:What the heck is going on with Tommy Bowden? Read the first response here:

http://clemson.scout.com/a.z?s=46&p=2&c=743007" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;