You’ve Got A Lot Of Nerve

Yesterday, Maurice Clarett updated the blog he writes from prison with yet another personal and emotional entry.  This time he has a message for those who have forgotten him.  He writes:

Someone sent me a photo to autograph and the photo sent me down memory lane. My choices weren't the best but I don't believe people should have written me off the way they did. If you really had love for me you would not have cast me off like a lot of people did without understanding what really took place.

After speaking more generally, Maurice moves on to send a personal message to former friends and teammates, a painful message:

On another note, I have to get something off my mind. It took quite some time to write these next lines...but here they are. I wish much success to all my old friends who forgot about me. That goes from the rich ones to the poor ones. There will never be any hard feelings once I'm released but I will forever remember who stood by my side when things got hard. Now that the popularity, women, clubs, clothes, jewelry, cars, and bright lights are gone, so are you all. I'll let you all live with that. I have never been hard to find or reach. People make time for things that are important to them. It's obvious that I'm not important to any of my old friends.

If you're one of Maurice's old friends, and you happen to be reading this, you have to be thinking, "Ouch."  At least a little bit.

As always, however, Maurice has his priority in check and a healthy sense of perspective:

I'll have the last laugh though. Success speaks for itself. Entourage out, family in. No mail, no photos, no magazines, no money orders, or visits...no problem. I'll save my spare time for my daughter.

He finishes with a final admonishment, a lesson to these so-called friends about how they might better rise to the occasion should the opportunity present itself in the future:

I'm not looking to reconnect with any of you. I'm just here to say that for future reference, if you ever have a friend who runs into an uncomfortable situation take the time out of your day to make sure that friend is forever good if you have the ability to. Real friends do real things.

Again, ouch.