The Seattle Seahawks took Frank Clark with their first selection in the 2015 NFL draft, a player accused of punching a woman in the face.
The pick wasn’t the first of its kind from the Seahawks but that hasn’t slowed the ballooning criticism they’re facing for selecting a player that allegedly struck his girlfriend and was kicked off the University of Michigan football team in November.
What makes this pick even more puzzling is that it comes just one season removed from the public relations debacle the NFL faced last season with the mishandling of the Ray Rice and Greg Hardy (targeted in free agency by the Seahawks) domestic abuse cases. The NFL has made it clear they will now have a zero tolerance policy for domestic abuse charges.
Back in 2012, Seahawks general manager, John Schneider said this to the Seattle Times:
“But suffice it to say, we would never, ever take a player that struck a female, or had a domestic dispute like that, or did anything like that.”
Now, either the Seahawks front office is full of two-faced liars or they did their research on Clark and believe he’s innocent of these charges.
As you’d expect, the Seahawks claim they did their research and released this statement following the draft:
“We conducted an extensive independent investigation that included confidential interviews with people directly involved with the case. That investigation provided our organization with an in-depth understanding of the situation and background. With the exception of Frank, we did not directly speak to any witnesses from that night.”
Let’s assume for a minute that Clark is guilty man. He made a terrible mistake and needs to turn his life around. Being drafted by the Seahawks may have been the best thing that could’ve happen to him. If you’re familiar with Pete Carroll, you know his coaching philosophy revolves around positivity and finding how to bring out the best in people. Look at the players and coaches the Seahawks have brought in to their program that have turned into success stories.
Marshawn Lynch had numerous run-ins with the law during his time in Buffalo and was all but written off by the Bills when they traded him to Seattle for a fourth round pick in 2010. Bruce Irvin had several arrests that included disorderly conduct and destruction of property before the Seahawks made him their first round pick in 2012. Tom Cable came to Seattle with assault allegations and a history of anger management issues. The list goes on.
Where other teams and coaches might see someone as a “problem” or as “too much trouble” to deal with, the Seahawks and Carroll see an opportunity to transform a person with a troubled past and give them a second opportunity to turn their life around. If they’re successful, and they for the most part have been, then it’s a win-win.
“Over the years, I’ve always found myself looking for guys that maybe other people don’t see something special in,” Pete Carroll said in a 2014 interview with the Seattle Times. “And maybe we take a chance on a guy here or there that needs some extra consideration and care…”
Clark’s abuse allegations may not be his last run-in with the law, but it seems as though he could not have been placed in a better situation with Carroll in Seattle.
For the record, the prosecutor in the Clark trial, Lynne Gast-King said Thursday that, “From what I gathered, I do not believe he punched her, slapped her, anything like that.” It sounds as though the Seahawks did do their homework on Clark, Schneider stayed true to his words from 2012 and the Seahawks picked up the best steal in the draft.