Craftsman self propelled drive wheel constantly engaged

I have a Craftsman 21" self-propelled (rear drive) mower, with a honda engine. The drive control is almost always "engaged" which makes pulling the mower backwards very difficult. It also rips the grass up while pulling. The drive control handle seems to function normally.
Any ideas ?
swede

Mine is husqvarna but has done the same thing. Pull rear wheel assy apart and clean and lube it. On mine there was a triangle shaped hub that a spring loaded pawl engaged. That needs to be removed, cleaned and inspected. Make note of how it came apart.
behind that there is an" E" clip. Pull that. There are bearings behind that that you may or may not be able to remove. I couldn't. I did spray some cleaner then some lube into it and it freed them up. These are" one way" bearings that are only supposed to enguage when power is applied. Mine acted up after getting wet.
hope this helps.