From Peter King of SI ~ "That name. Sonia Sotomayor. President Obama's choice for Supreme Court justice rings a bell in the sports world, especially in Big Ten country. Remember?
In 2004, Maurice Clarett tested the National Football League's draft-eligibility rules, which state that players are not eligible for the draft until three seasons have passed between the time they graduate from high school and the time they declare for the draft. Only two years had passed when Clarett tried to enter the 2004 draft. His case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York, where a three-judge panel, Sotomayor included, ruled against Clarett and forced him to wait 'til the 2005 draft.
Clarett's attorney, Alan Milstein, argued keeping Clarett out of the NFL would unreasonably restrict his client's earnings. Of course it would restrict his earnings, because it would keep him out of the NFL for another year. But the question for the three-judge panel was whether this was unreasonable or unfair.
Opined Sotomayor: "That's what unions do every day -- protect people in the union from those not in the union. Why is this case different?''
It wasn't. Clarett lost the case. He was drafted in the third round the next year by the Broncos in what turned out to be a ridiculously bad pick, a total waste by then Denver coach Mike Shanahan. And now Sotomayor, who is a big Yankees fan, will be up for confirmation to the highest court in the land."
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