 "Photo: Elizabeth Leitzell | Daily Trojan")
Former USC receiver Mike Williams might be feeling a little left out, at least for the present time.
A federal court of appeals issued a stay Monday - just five days before the NFL draft - in favor of the NFL's appeal requesting that players not be allowed into the league until they are three years removed from high school.
Williams, along with eight others trying to take advantage of the February District Court ruling that declared the NFL's three-year rule in violation of antitrust regulations, looks for now to be excluded from Saturday's NFL draft.
"We are pleased that the court has issued a stay," NFL lawyer Jeff Pash told The Associated Press on Monday. "We are grateful for the prompt attention the court has given to this matter and we await its decision on the merits."
The two-page order handed down by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the NFL has "demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits."
The current ruling leaves Williams, former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett (who was the first to challenge the three-year rule) and seven high school players in limbo. The stay will most likely remain in effect until after the draft, meaning these seven prospects will not be drafted this weekend.
"If a stay has been issued, it means that there will be no ruling on this until the appellate court gets around to hearing the case and making a decision," said Charles Whitebread, a USC Law School professor. "That's certainly six months. There is little or no chance that those guys are going to be eligible for the NFL draft."
Whitebread compared the stay to a "temporary restraining order" for the NFL against players not three years out of high school.
Attorneys for the NFL did tell the judges during the hour-long debate in Manhattan on Monday that players such as Williams and Clarett would be eligible for a supplemental draft if the appeals court later rules in favor of the players, thereby shooting down the league's appeal.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan asked Clarett's lawyer Alan Milstein during the proceedings why excluding younger players was wrong, saying in regard to the league, "It's good for them, good for us and in the long run good for the sport."
The players now have two options, both of which will be difficult to accomplish: Return to college or wait out the appeal and either hope they can enter a supplemental draft prior to the 2004 season or sit out until the 2005 draft.
If Williams decided to return to college football, which ESPN's John Clayton said was "unlikely" in a television interview Monday, he would face many obstacles, including his hiring of an agent (which negates his amateur status) and complying with the NCAA's academic regulations (players must complete a certain number of units per semester in order to remain eligible for competition. Williams dropped out of school in late February after announcing his intention to go pro).
"We don't know yet if this is a permanent situation," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "But it is unfortunate that it continues to turn back and forth for those guys. They don't know where they stand."
Williams did not answer phone calls on Monday.
If the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Williams did not wish to return to college football, he could play professionally elsewhere or wait until next April's NFL draft.
Williams was expected to be drafted in the first round of this year's draft, while Clarett was projected to go in the second or third round. Milstein cited those players' high prospects in the NFL as the reason younger players should be allowed into the draft because they are just as physically ready as other players.
"The teams are lining up to hire these guys because the teams know these players are ready to play," Milstein told the AP.
On Feb. 5, U.S. District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled in favor of the plaintiff Clarett that the NFL's three-year rule violated antitrust laws because it was anti-competitive. Williams announced Feb. 25 he would be the next player to take advantage of the ruling. Six high school seniors and one community college player soon followed suit.
