America Heart for SafeSport has completely banned Kevin ‘Scott’ Morris, a former contractor and director for america CRITS collection, from participation in actions and competitions with USA Biking.
SafeSport checklist the ruling of ‘everlasting ineligibility’, dated September 27, 2023, for “legal disposition – involving a minor” and “legal disposition – sexual misconduct”, bought from the nonprofit’s Centralized Disciplinary Database on their web site.
It were two years since SafeSport quickly suspended Morris for allegations of misconduct. At the moment, on September 14, 2021, SafeSport didn’t make the character of the allegations public.
“It [this matter] used to be all the time referring to criminal issues way back resolved. I by no means didn’t declare my innocence in those issues,” Morris informed Cyclingnews on Tuesday. “The ones issues ended in fees of sexual misconduct being brushed aside prior to I had the [USA Cycling] license in query. There used to be a no contest plea to a pc products and services crime. I hate that any individual most likely weaponized SafeSport to harm me and the game beneath different pretenses.”
Morris additionally informed Cyclingnews this week that he declined an attraction procedure in 2023 with SafeSport “as a result of there used to be no make sure that I may get an impartial arbitrator and the extra hurt used to be frankly already accomplished. I simply need to transfer on.”
In October 2021, Cyclingnews reported that Morris were quickly suspended via SafeSport for allegations of misconduct. The topic used to be dropped at mild after various US-based groups shared on social media that they’d pull out USA CRITS because of ‘revelations’ in regards to the race organisation nonetheless using a person with a SafeSport suspension.
Aevolo and L39ION of Los Angeles had been the primary two groups to drag clear of the criterium collection, which had ended for the season and seemed to relaunch in 2022. Numerous the occasions additionally withdrew from attention to proceed within the collection, together with Tulsa Difficult.
The groups and occasions mentioned on social media that they discovered it unacceptable that Swagger LLC, the corporate setting up USA CRITS, which had employed Morris as a contractor, had no longer fired him at once. A spokesperson for Swagger mentioned they adopted SafeSport tips when Morris used to be suspended on September 14, 2021, and “limited him from occasions and any touch with athletes”.
After 4 years in control with Swagger, Morris’ employment with the corporate ended quickly after the social media posts via groups in October 2021. Later within the month, Morris spoke in brief with Cyclingnews, claiming that the suspension used to be brought on when he entered a criterium race previous within the 12 months, and any individual alerted SafeSport to his previous.
“There used to be a brief discovering of measures taken in accordance with some previous fees that I had 15 years in the past that had been brushed aside,” Morris mentioned within the interview in October 2021 with Cyclingnews in regards to the brief suspension.
Morris used to be arrested in February 2007 in Georgia on 5 criminal counts of sexual exploitation of youngsters after detectives allegedly discovered information and sexually particular pictures of youngsters on his non-public laptop, in line with The Related Press. On the time of the arrest, Morris used to be operating for a chamber of trade in a Georgia county, and he used to be on bond and space arrest for 20 counts of kid pornography in Virginia from 2004, the AP tale mentioned.
He used to be indicted in November 2008 in Georgia for 45 counts of sexual exploitation of youngsters associated with ‘motion pictures and pictures of minors engaged in sexually particular behavior’ that had been purported to be on his house laptop. Morris pursued an attraction procedure during the Courtroom of Appeals of Georgia, which persisted via 2013.
All fees had been later “deserted”, in line with studies, with Morris accepting a “no contest plea to a pc products and services crime”. He has all the time protested his innocence, and the costs weren’t pursued.
Whilst SafeSport can not touch upon main points of the Morris case, the character of a legal disposition is in accordance with “a Player to be or had been matter to any disposition or answer of a legal continuing, as opposed to an adjudication of no longer accountable”, in line with the SafeSport Code. A legal disposition can come with “an adjudication of guilt or admission to a legal violation, a plea to the fee or a lesser incorporated offense”, in addition to conditional dismissal or different preparations.
The Code for Protected Game states that “this is a violation for a player to have interaction in or tolerate Prohibited Habits”, which contains ‘Legal Fees or Inclinations’. The new ruling from the investigation didn’t contain any new fees in opposition to Morris.