Robert Dover demonstrates that he has a fundamental misunderstanding of how sexual predators think. I mean, lucky him, I guess, except it also demonstrates he would be a horrible guardian for young people he is meant to be mentoring. SAfe sport training was made for people like Robert Dover. He should probably retake the training a few more times.
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II said earlier that this was my suspicion when the horsemasters clinic was cancelled this year. A lot of distancing was already happening last fall, if not back a few more years.
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I would guess that it was the information he published in his book possibly.
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Indeed, Robert Dover does not understand that one non-victim does not equal innocence. Molesting is not an all or nothing proposition. As the ESPN article shows, two brothers, same camp, only one was molested by Mainwaring. How fortunate that Robert can rest assured that GM is innocent based on asking only one attractive person.
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I read the book and can’t really think of what part(s) you are referring to. Can you specify?
yes - makes you wonder if Jonathan was being investigated, as he is on the suspension list, and gave up GM… would make sense
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@541hunter thanks for pointing me to the relevant pages; based on that I think Denali’s interpretation is correct:
From the code:
“Generally, Temporary Measures are implemented based on the severity of the allegations, the evidentiary support for the allegations, and/or the perceived risk to athletes or the sport community.”
I read that to mean that either the allegations are very severe, have lots of supporting evidence, and/or there is a high potential risk to more athletes.
@poltroon
Thanks for recommending a narrower section of the Rob Gage thread to read and sharing those posts
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It’s the same journalist who covered the Williams story. Pretty sure COTH did a profile piece on her around that time.
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Everything that you post seems always to be about YOU! I’m probably old enough to be either your mother or your grandmother, and yes, people DID come out in the 60’s. I had a ton of male equestrian friends who were gay in the 60’s, and they were out and proud. Unfortunately due to the Aids epidemic, few of them are still alive.
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I would guess it was an offshoot from the JW investigation.
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Here are some questions to ponder about the larger societal context–the petri dish in which all this squirms:
(1) In an age when physical strength and prowess is completely unnecessary to the making of an upscale living (we’re pretty much all pixel-pushers now), WHY does “sport” occupy a plane of social importance unseen since ancient Sparta? Why do we pour unholy amounts of money into “winning” absolutely nothing useful at any cost?
(2) Who kicked a ball into whose goal, who struck out, who had a rail in what obscure class at some obscure show, all these are things that (a) produce no result in the real world whatsoever beyond momentary advertising revenue and (b) won’t be remembered 3 days from now except by paid statisticians and obsessed fanatics (derivation of “fan”). Why do we place more value on utterly useless striving after contrived, arbitrary and ultimately pointless “goals” than we do the intellectual and social capital that actually moves the human race’s progress forward? I don’t see patent applications occupying 30 pages of the daily paper like “sports” does.
(3) If “sport” is thought to be a societal good for “building character,” etc., why have we allowed it to be corrupted by money to the point where its participants get a “pass” on anti-social behavior that in any other context would get one instantly fired? Not only the pervy coaches, but how about football players whose domestic violence, weapons charges, larcenies, etc. are winked at and the story quickly killed in the press?
(4) Why do we hold such people up as “role models” for youth when in fact their morals are nonexistent, their methods beyond questionable, their reputations dubious, their substance abuse public knowledge, and the entire point of what they do completely irrelevant outside their tiny-little-bubble “sport” enclaves? Why are they “important?”
(5) Why do we put our kids through this crucible to begin with? Just imagine if we spent the time and money supporting cutting-edge academics (STEM) that we pour into school and college “athletic” programs. And BTW, you only hear about the successes, never the lifetime of crippling pain for many, that those mills produce. Maybe we’ve reached an age where all this has jumped the shark, eh?
Maybe we just ought to let kids be kids, and have low-key fun playing with ponies . . .
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I noticed with some interest that Dover doesn’t state that he himself wasn’t molested in the quotes here attributed to him.
He seems to believe that consent trumps all even if it results from grooming.
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@MissCoco this wasn’t the temporary measures pending investigation. George was not named publicly until the investigation was concluded and ban was handed down. He is currently appealing the formal findings and/or suspension
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I do like this change in Safesport procedure. I’m much happier with the investigation wrapping before the name comes out.
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I am just catching up on this thread, and I have not read all the replies, so maybe somebody else already addressed this. I believe Soresi was arrested in 2006 when he took his computer to the shop for repairs, and it had child porn on it. The computer shop called the police, and it went on from there.
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It relates to whether the organization believes the accused presents an immediate threat to kids. In this case, it was probably a good call, but probably also predicated on George’s profile and position in the community.
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Good for them. I know a ton of people who didn’t come out due to fear. One of whom is my Mom. She was not alone in her experiences.
Also, to this day, sexual assault or rape of men are extremely underreported compared to women reporting it. That was the point.
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Just a clarification for everyone calling this a “suspension”: it is actually a lifetime ban, not a suspension. The PH article is much more descriptive about the process and the repercussions:
https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/news/george-morris-faces-ban
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I don’t think the MAAP violations are very benign; but thank you for clarification. It appeared from the training that MAAP violations were also safesport violations.
Though, unless I am wrong, some could fall under both (ex: sexual comments/bullying about a minor)
I remember the incident, just didn’t remember the name. Where the hell was USEF?
It took Safe Sport to ban him.
Whomever said that we can’t be relied upon to police ourselves was certainly right.
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