NFL fails to protect player with learning disability

I received an email a few days ago from a retired NFL coach. It concerns former LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne, expected to be a high draft choice this month, and his low score on the Wonderlic test. The Wonderlic is an intelligence test given to job applicants in all fields, in this case prospective NFL draft picks. The email follows:

"Lowell: I am so upset with the talking gel heads and bloggers at ESPN and other sports media forums who are making fun of Morris Claiborne, the cornerback out of LSU.

"He scored only a 4 on the Wonderlic Test at the Combine.

Obviously, Problem Number 1 is that somebody leaked confidential material to the media. Secondly, Claiborne is documented with learning disabilities and is afforded accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"He entered LSU with documented learning disabilities. NFL scouts who have researched him at LSU know he has documented learning disabilities. Even worse, the NFL administers the Wonderlic at the Combine annually in Indianapolis; however, it does not take into consideration any of the players who should be afforded accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a result, Claiborne scored a 4.

"There are other players who also have scored in single digits over the years and have been subjected to media ridicule.

I have spoken with 2 people at NFL HQ and basically been blown off by both of them because they don't believe it is the NFL's job to correct the media when they inaccurately profile a player. One of the individuals in the Communications Department said he sees no reason why the league should issue a release to correct this tremendous misperception about Claiborne.

"Since Claiborne probably is a top-10 projected draft pick, he will be on the stage for the NFL draft on Thursday, the 26th, and you know the conversation around him will center on his Wonderlic score of 4 and whether that will hamper his ability to be a top-of-the-first-round draft pick and what impact, if any, it will have on his ability to play in the league.

"Sorry to be steamed about this, but it is a grave injustice for this young man to be subjected to ridicule."

OK, that's the email I received. Subsequently, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all teams warning they face significant penalties for leaking personal information, including Wonderlic scores, about draft prospects. This information "can be extremely damaging to players, clubs, and the league," he wrote. I would like to think the retired coach who wrote to me had something to do with Goodell stepping up.

Goodell's memo was the right thing to do, although his advisory came too late for Claiborne, who got skewered on national TV and on Twitter. One person who responded to a story on Fox Sports wanted to know if the team that eventually drafts

Claiborne will have to draw up plays for him in crayon.

Pro Football Talk is the outlet that leaked Claiborne's Wonderlic score. Shame on Pro Football Talk. Pro Football Talk wrote, "How else can anyone explain a person who presumably has found a way to avoid failing out of college getting such a low score on a basic intelligence test? And that gives rise to a more important question. What did LSU actually do to keep Claiborne from failing out of school?"

I want to explain about the Wonderlic and then I want to explain what kept Claiborne "from failing out of school." Players get 12 minutes to complete the Wonderlic, top score 50. Claiborne has federally mandated protections under the Americans with Disability Act. He could have demanded more than 12 minutes. He was entitled to a reader who would read the questions out loud to him. He was entitled to these things and more.

As a student at LSU, he had federally mandated rights. In class, all students - not just athletes - with documented learning disabilities can take untimed tests, can be given people who take notes for them, can listen to audio books, etc. Pro Football Talk wrote snarky, cruel things about Claiborne and in the process made fun of all people with learning disabilities.

When Claiborne took the Wonderlic, either the league failed to grant him his rights, or he and his agent, Bus Cook, failed to ask for them. Either way, Claiborne did not take the test under optimal circumstances. He should be allowed to take the test again - take it the correct way - if that's what he wants.

Or maybe he never should have taken the test in the first place. He is a great athlete and teams would draft him without the test. If he had refused the Wonderlic, he would not have turned into a national joke. But if he declined the test, NFL teams might worry he has a bad attitude and does not respect authority. It was a tough situation for him, one you and I never want to face.

Maybe the NFL should cease and desist with the Wonderlic. If you go to si.com, you can see all kinds of Wonderlic scores. Frank Gore got a 6. The 6 hasn't held him back. Here are other scores. I am not outing these players. These scores are public knowledge. I am saying the scores mean nothing.

Ray Lewis 13; Terry Bradshaw 16; Randy Moss 12; Dan Marino 15.

You could start a pretty good football team with those guys. At least one study concludes a high score on Wonderlic does not predict success in the NFL.

What is the point of the retired coach's complaint? It's that news media, especially Pro Football Talk, disregarded common decency and subjected Claiborne to ridicule he does not deserve. Claiborne is not a person who cannot learn. He is a person who learns a different way.

Imagine how you would feel if your child had a documented learning disability, and a national website leaked his or her Wonderlic score for purposes of derision. How about heartbroken?

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.