George Morris on the SS list

[BigMama1]

@541hunter

Already spotted a trainer in my area posting a big long defense of poor ol’ George and how unfair it was that something that occurred 50 years ago would be held against him, and how she’s sure anything he did way back when is long since forgiven…and then deleting it less than a day later. Seems like they’re all taking it to the private group.

If these defenders don’t already look like complete asshats on the wrong side of history, they certainly will if and when criminal charges get filed.

[Christa_P]

@YankeeDuchess

What the heck is a “genetically unrelated brother”?

Step or adopted brother would apply

[ladyj79]

@BigMama1

If these defenders don’t already look like complete asshats on the wrong side of history, they certainly will if and when criminal charges get filed.

They LEGIT still won’t care. These people will defend their “club” til death. They cannot bear the ignominy that would follow from acknowledging their complicity.

[541hunter]

@skydy

You’d think they would learn from experience (Rob Gage) that rushing to support a banned person without being in possession of the facts is a dumb move.

Many of them still believe RG was falsely accused. At least, among the posts I’ve seen.

[Texarkana]

Not to defend the defenders, but I think the news of George Morris certainly casts a wider net than the news of Rob Gage. I think there is likely a lot of “new blood” voicing concerns who may have been mostly or completely oblivious to the RG situation.

Also, I feel confident that many of the RG “supporters” were merely wanting to join the angry mob, tuning out of the story after the initial outrage was over and never learning the additional details of his transgressions.

[YankeeDuchess]

@Alterforme

There is quite a bit of fb activity today on. Interesting to see the names coming forward in support. I’m so sad for the victims in this awful situation.

there is now a fb group called “ I stand for George “, I think it was started by Candice King.

Gemini Brittany Pledger started a post on her page proposing that usef club majority members bring about a class action lawsuit against usef for being forced to sign away constitutional rights to due process as requirement for membership. She goes on to say membership needs to stand together for the “ Father” of our sport. She implies that George is God & that “ He literally wrote the equestrian bible”.

Someone commented about already contacting a few lawyers.

Aren’t class action lawsuits always brought on a contingency basis?  Where would you find a law firm dumb enough to bring such a suit?

[anon6003733]

del

[anon6923113]

I just checked out a few things online.

1. The closed “I Stand With George” Facebook group has over 2400 members. I have no idea what these folks are chatting about because I haven’t joined the group, and it’s closed. I do find it amusing though that all these people on Facebook who fervently support child molesters now do so in closed groups, and not on their public Facebook pages anymore. I guess some of the naming and shaming, and quotes pulled from public Facebook posts over on the Rob Gage thread made an impact. They should rename their group “I PRIVATELY Stand with George”

2. I looked at the Safe Sport list again… and their website has been updated. The new list is formatted differently than the prior list. It is clear that Jonathan Soresi was RECENTLY added to the list though. Same day as GM. Interesting. GM is permanently banned (subject to appeal) because of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Soresi is simply listed as “ineligible” (subject to appeal) due to criminal disposition involving a minor. So it’s a safe assumption that may involve the prior child pornography case. There was a comment earlier on this thread or another about Soresi having gotten a temporary suspension stemming from those charges… I am unclear however if that was a temporary suspension from USEF from years ago, or the “ineligible” ruling from Safe Sport that came out yesterday.

The statement from George Morris’ PR team (that everyone seems to continue to say came from SafeSport or USEF - in fact some publications have misreported on this which is FRUSTRATING to read… the statement came from GMs PR people) anyway… the PR driven statement CLAIMS that the Safe Sport decision was based on allegations from someone dating back from 1968 to a period in the 1970’s. It seems obvious the statement is INTENDED to get everyone to assume the root of this complaint and lifetime ban is JS. Well… a few thoughts. The investigation apparently started well over a year ago. There must have been more than one allegation of misconduct with a minor, given that the investigation took over a year. Additionally, the intake process with Safe Sport does take into account the credibility of the complainant when deciding whether or not to pursue an investigation into a complaint. Does anyone think they launched a year long investigation into an Olympic Gold Medal winner, who has also served as the Chef D’Equipe of a Gold Medal winning team based only on one complaint from a man who has been convicted on child porn charges?There’s a lot more to it than that folks. Just like with Rob Gage… people need to pause and understand that they DO NOT KNOW who/what/how extensive/how recent complaints or incidents may have been.

3. But about Jonathan Soresi… why don’t all these people… the 2400 who stand with George and just think this ban is the FINAL straw with respect to Safe Sport, and proof that it’s an out of control witch hunt… why don’t they start an “I Stand with Jonathan” page? His sanction was announced yesterday as well. If they are honestly not “victim blaming” and not engaging in mindless sports hero worship and REALLY and TRULY just all about “due process” and concerned about the “constitutional overreach” with respect to Safe Sport… they should stand with Soresi as well.

4. One last note… of interest to a few who followed the other thread related to Rob Gage. Tom Navarro (trains out of Aldie in NoVa) previously was listed as permanently ineligible pending appeal on the SafeSport list. Well… the pending appeal is gone. So I guess he lost that appeal? Still running a thriving business though.

[541hunter]

@Virginia Horse Mom

Well… a few thoughts. The investigation apparently started well over a year ago. There must have been more than one allegation of misconduct with a minor, given that the investigation took over a year.

I’ve seen that claim on the investigation timeline a lot on Facebook but I haven’t had any luck verifying it? Do you know where it came from?

[anon6923113]

I’ve seen that commentary as well. In addition… the NYT reporter who apparently is about to come out with a story about GM began looking into it all almost a year ago. And into the Soresi connection. I doubt she would have started digging into that if a true investigation wasn’t already underway…

[Midge]

@skydy

You’d think they would learn from experience (Rob Gage) that rushing to support a banned person without being in possession of the facts is a dumb move.

They are still in Rob’s corner because those aren’t facts. Just ask them. They’ll tell you.

[anon6923113]

There’s quite a bit of commentary from the Rob Gage supporters who believe that there is some nefarious connection between the timing of Gage’s memorial service (apparently this last weekend) and the timing of the announcement about George Morris’ lifetime ban.

Seems unlikely…

[541hunter]

@Virginia Horse Mom

I’ve seen that commentary as well. In addition… the NYT reporter who apparently is about to come out with a story about GM began looking into it all almost a year ago. And into the Soresi connection. I doubt she would have started digging into that if a true investigation wasn’t already underway…

The reporter’s Twitter post today led me to believe that she was unaware that Safe Sport was looking into GHM officially. Anyway, doesn’t matter that much, I just would like to have a source to cite on the length of the investigation because if it really was 9-12 months that says something about its thoroughness. But I’m not personally comfortable going off other people’s info :uhoh:

[YankeeDuchess]

@Alterforme

There is quite a bit of fb activity today on. Interesting to see the names coming forward in support. I’m so sad for the victims in this awful situation.

there is now a fb group called “ I stand for George “, I think it was started by Candice King.

Gemini Brittany Pledger started a post on her page proposing that usef club majority members bring about a class action lawsuit against usef for being forced to sign away constitutional rights to due process as requirement for membership. She goes on to say membership needs to stand together for the “ Father” of our sport. She implies that George is God & that “ He literally wrote the equestrian bible”.

Someone commented about already contacting a few lawyers.

USEF has over 100,000 members. There are 2,400 on the closed “I stand with George” page and about the same number signed a pledge to not renew their USEF membership if “substantial reform” of SafeSport was not in place by Sept 30.

Are they sufficiently delusional to think they represent the majority of USEF members?

[Midge]

@Virginia Horse Mom

I just checked out a few things online.

1. The closed “I Stand With George” Facebook group has over 2400 members. I have no idea what these folks are chatting about because I haven’t joined the group, and it’s closed. I do find it amusing though that all these people on Facebook who fervently support child molesters now do so in closed groups, and not on their public Facebook pages anymore. I guess some of the naming and shaming, and quotes pulled from public Facebook posts over on the Rob Gage thread made an impact. They should rename their group “I PRIVATELY Stand with George”

There are also people in that group who don’t stand with George,but want to see who does.

[AllOverFarm]

I’m sorry if this is a stupid question… but how do people know that J soresi is the victim ? Did he come forward or is this just speculation / rumor? Shame on all those in the fb group, I feel so bad for the victims in this situation. Stay strong.

[anon6923113]

@Midge

There are also people in that group who don’t stand with George, but want to see who does.

That makes sense. Good for those who are deeply tied to the upper echelon of the hunter jumper world (I’m not - just another lowly ammy) and are paying attention and taking notes.

In other news, I saw a different post on Facebook alleging that they personally knew of a victim GM had abused within the last 10 years. And of other victims… I don’t know if this is true or not, but it’s out there on social media.

[poltroon]

@Virginia Horse Mom

The statement from George Morris’ PR team (that everyone seems to continue to say came from SafeSport or USEF - in fact some publications have misreported on this which is FRUSTRATING to read… the statement came from GMs PR people) anyway… the PR driven statement CLAIMS that the Safe Sport decision was based on allegations from someone dating back from 1968 to a period in the 1970’s. It seems obvious the statement is INTENDED to get everyone to assume the root of this complaint and lifetime ban is JS. Well… a few thoughts. The investigation apparently started well over a year ago. There must have been more than one allegation of misconduct with a minor, given that the investigation took over a year. Additionally, the intake process with Safe Sport does take into account the credibility of the complainant when deciding whether or not to pursue an investigation into a complaint. Does anyone think they launched a year long investigation into an Olympic Gold Medal winner, who has also served as the Chef D’Equipe of a Gold Medal winning team based only on one complaint from a man who has been convicted on child porn charges?

I’m going to take a moment here, not to disagree particularly with what you wrote, but to open a bit of a redirect. I don’t know if JS is a claimant or not nor if that’s what GM wants us to think… or even why anyone would want us to think it, because if it’s true it’s pretty awful.

I also don’t know JS and don’t care to vouch for his character in any way.

But. Possession of child pornography, and his comments about his love/hate relationship with the sport that have been in articles about him for decades… those are completely consistent with someone abused by a coach or trusted adult. Same with drug use and other self-destructive behavior. It’s exactly why we consider them to be such serious crimes. The trauma sometimes eats the survivors from the inside out. That these behaviors also discredit the victim is exactly part of the problem we’ve had with convicting perpetrators… the “he’s no angel” reaction.

Has GM ever said anything publicly about the situation with JS? After all, JS supervised minor students at GM’s operation and direction.

@Virginia Horse Mom

3. But about Jonathan Soresi… why don’t all these people… the 2400 who stand with George and just think this ban is the FINAL straw with respect to Safe Sport, and proof that it’s an out of control witch hunt… why don’t they start an “I Stand with Jonathan” page?

What an interesting and excellent question.

[BigMama1]

@Midge

There are also people in that group who don’t stand with George,but want to see who does.

There are a significant number of people posting there who used to have my respect.

[JanM]

I know I should have expected it, but I made the big mistake of looking at comments on the COTH facebook page, and the victim shaming was horrifically bad. After looking at the RG, and GM page comments, I can’t believe anyone wonders why victims don’t come forward.