I suspect that it has always been GM’s MO to cultivate his image of being verbally abusive as a way of publicly intimidating anyone and everyone from ever going up against him.
Having witnessed first-hand his nastiness in a public setting (clinic) I can only imagine how unsavory his words and actions would be in private.
Oh, yes. Why else would you roll in the dirt when a clinician told you to? If he weren’t intimidating, you’d tell him to go take a running jump instead of meekly doing what he said.
Thank you so much for your posts, @Farhills123.
GM’s reaction to the investigation is quite interesting to me. Based on the knowledge that I have on the case, I don’t really see any way that he could argue innocence. I have no doubt that he and his legal advisers will try and attack the credibility of the claimants, but the sheer volume of claimants/witnesses and the identity of certain claimants would make that tactic a very poor choice.
Also, considering that he “allegedly” threatened several people in an effort to convince them not to speak to SafeSport/reporters, he could be found in violation of several SafeSport policies. I could also see his legal team going the “technicality” route and trying to argue that SafeSport did not follow its own rules - but this tactic would definitely hurt his public declaration of innocence. Another issues is the PR statement - which was carefully worded to single out a specific claimant. I’m not sure if it rises to the level of “Abuse of Process” but its wording was incredibly misleading.
For those who are interested in learning more about the actions that typically result in “Permanent Ineligibility”, here is a spreadsheet that I created in early July: SafeSport - Permanent Ineligibility
@poltroon I agree 100%. The PR statement is a perfect example of how even basic information, like a four-year time span tied with a violation of “sexual misconduct - involving a minor”, can reveal the identities of claimants.
I don’t ride any longer, and never was anyone who was actually great at it, but I did enjoy it. So I never joined AHSA, or USEF. Until yesterday, when I signed up for a fan membership.
People who say SS should go away, and USEF, and their FEI counterparts should butt out, wouldn’t that mean that international competitions wouldn’t happen in the U.S. any longer? And no more international presence for the U.S. riders? Or am I misunderstanding the entire situation (entirely possible).
I hope the victims have support from family friends and loved ones in the coming days. I hope if it is at all possible or appropriate, some of them can figure out a way to connect with one another, and support one another.
The story of the men who were victims of Conrad Mainwaring and supported one another privately as that case unfolded comes to mind. ESPN just did some powerful reporting on that. The story of the gymnasts who were part of the Larry Nasser case also comes to mind. The young woman who tried to report him in 2000 and had her story published by the Indy Star… she was a catalyst for others. Without her speaking up and speaking out… and later in supporting others who were trying to work through it… she was instrumental in terms of bringing him down.
I think that NGBs that govern national
competitions (in the sense of not just intra-state) are subject to SafeSport as well. So ditching FEI or Olympic ties won’t get you away from SafeSport anyway.
After considering his statement, I think he knows where this is heading and he’s basically saying he’s going to make this as public and ugly as possible and take as many others with him as he can. And face it, there are going to be a lot of people dragged into it. He may possibly squeak out of it - OJ Simpson did - but there will be a lot of dirty laundry left flapping around in his wake, as well as a lot of people who will still believe in his innocence.
Copy and paste:
I’m the author of the New York Times’ investigation into George Morris. I have been reading social media, and wondering: Where did this false belief that Safe Sport treats people as “guilty before proven innocent” come from?
George Morris was the subject of a rigorous, two year investigation by ex-FBI and Special Victims investigators who make up Safe Sports team. It is no small thing to ban the most prominent face of a sport for life, it was done only because the facts were proved without a shadow of a doubt.
Just because you do not know what happened, does not mean it did not happen. Please feel free to be in touch with any questions, Sarah.Nir@nytimes.com
I’m wondering if some of George Morris’s teenaged victims are now men who are not homosexual, and were not willing to have that relationship with him become public. Victims frequently feel shame, and maybe it’s a double whammy for them. We have become way more accepting of homosexuality as the decades passed, but a heterosexual man may just not be willing to come forward if he had been a victim of George Morris as a teen. I know that was an issue with boys who were abused by priests and why it took so long for some of them to come forward.
Well…not really in the loop any more and grew up on the opposite coast where we had our own problems. Never around him much other then watch him teach in public settings, like private mini clinic type lessons for accomplished Juniors at shows in the last 20 years. But over the last couple of years, he’s distanced himself noticeably from a lot of his professional activities. Just thought it was age and health related but heard a few rumors something else was going on.
If it’s anything like the JW situation, people have been contacted by journalists and certainly the SS investigation that has apparently been going on for at least 18 months. That would fit with the 2 year time frame here. Once JW went down, it really was only a matter of time anyway as victims are starting to speak up. Suspect there’s more shoes to drop, possibly within that vocal group of supporters.
Laurierace Thank you! Findelight That makes sense. I noticed that also, but like you thought it was just age-related. But looking back, it makes sense. And yes, I believe this is the tip of the iceburg.
Apparently Sarah Nir was briefly part of the ISWG Facebook Group, and she posted her article there. The admin removed it and booted her from the group. Vanessa Brown has now posted about it, and has said,
“if anyone feels compelled to bring her actions to the attention of The New York Times, the e-mail addresses to send your views to are…”
Maybe I am missing something… but what in the world… do these people think the editors at that paper are going to discipline their reporter for linking to her own investigative report because a bunch of folks determined to support GM are upset with her?
I was thinking the same thing. There is still a lot of homophobia, and I think there is a lot less of a support system for boys who may have been abused in that way. My observation is that women have been more public and vocal about constructing support systems for victims of rape and other sexual abuse.
Duncan McIntosh keeps indicating he knows the entirety of the investigation against Rob Gage. Is that possible? And that it was all a fabricated charge. How does that square with the women who came forward after The Oaks?
I see his reaction is the same as everyone else that has been permanently banned. They have not denied it occurred. Not one person has stood up and said they didn’t do it. They spew misinformation about due process, the stature of limitations, they attack the reporting party, or they say, as George did, that he never hurt anyone or the sport. They have no clue who they hurt. They take no responsibility for the lives that they damaged. I have seen a few comments mentioning how people were different “back then”. Many people that were alcoholics or doing drugs have cleaned up their act and become good citizens who have contributed to the sport, therefore should not be held responsible because they “aren’t that person anymore”. I applaud anyone who has conquered an addiction, but that doesn’t give one a free pass. If you killed someone when drunk or high, that person is still dead regardless if you are clean and sober now… If you molested a child, that person may be an adult, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t inflict harm. It may not be visible, but there was damage done.
George says he didn’t hurt anyone and people interpret that as innocence - because that is what they want it to be. If you read his statement (released by his PR people), he doesn’t say he didn’t do it and he is only focusing on the 1 case. (as did the other banned individuals). Why - because they don’t want people to know the truth.
Don’t want to be informed is right. I was on the ISWG page and saw this exchange (paraphrased):
poster A: How do you know the most recent report was 50 years ago?
poster B: In the limited information they provided, it said 1968-1972.
Poster A: Those dates came from GMs PR firm, not SafeSport.
Poster B: He doesn’t have a PR firm. I’m guessing you don’t know who GM is.
Poster A: PR firm or not, those dates are from GMs camp, not SafeSport.
Poster B: They are from SafeSport, try to keep up.
Poster C; Actually, the dates are from a PR firm, here’s the link. Provides link to GM statement, which has the heading “Statement from George H Morris” at the top.
Poster B: Poster C - If you don’t stand with George, you should leave the page.
Poster C: Oh gee, sorry, I do stand with George, just trying to state a fact.
At at one point, both Poster A and Poster C were grayed out (blocked). Don’t bug us with no obnoxious facts, you nasty people.
They refer to the NYTs journalist as a “journalist”, and removed a post of hers, blocked her from the page, and provided the members of the group with the phone number of the NYTs editorial department. So outraged ISWG people could complain to the NYT that … what?
And look at the victim shaming that is still going on to girls in the wake of the Rob Gage thing.
ETA: I’m not normally too sympathetic when people start saying “but look at teh menz” but in this case, I’m sure it is much worse for men who identify as straight or gay men who prefer to keep their identification out of the public eye, because if/when it becomes known that they were victims of a homosexual predator, they will be subject to questioning of their sexual natures in much worse ways than female victims are.
None of the anti-discrimination legislation in this country provides protection for adults who choose to engage in felony sexual misconduct with minors.
The “USEF is a private organization” line keeps getting repeated because people keep yelling about constitution rights, due process, innocent until proven guilty, etc. But those amendments only apply to incidences where you are being charged with a crime… like by the law, on a federal/state/regional level.
USEF/SafeSport has not charged Mr. Morris with a crime-- that’s not their job. But they have said there is a preponderance of evidence that he violated the rules of the organization to the point where they feel a ban is in the best interest of their members.
I believe people become confused because the rules he violated are also considered crimes by the law, so many people feel like he has been charged with a crime. He hasn’t been charged-- if that were true, he would have been arrested and indicted. He’s a free man to do anything he wants except participate in the private organization that booted him.
The burden of evidence and standard of proof needed for the law to pursue action for criminal activity is much greater than the preponderance of evidence needed for civil matters, like club membership. In the SafeSport policies, they are clear that they report their findings to law enforcement when appropriate, but as mentioned earlier, many times the law cannot act due to statutes of limitations or types of evidence.
I’m sure you understand all this, but I just felt it was worth repeating because so many people still don’t get it.
@Laurierace Where did you get that statement from the reporter? Just curious who she sent it to! I’m eagerly following her public statements on her investigation and also have been trying to verify the Safe Sport investigation timeline, so I would love to be able to point to that as backup on the claim that it was super in-depth!
*Edit: I found it! She’s posted it on Twitter if anyone else is neurotic enough to gather a repository of sources to cite in conversation.
I am aware of one reference to a man who was a victim of GM as a boy, and went on to get married to a woman as a young man. From what I gathered, the abuse was traumatic and had a terrible impact on him, and the marriage failed.
If you are inclined to believe that abuse happened at all… it’s safe to assume that boys who grew up to be adult males who identify as heterosexual were indeed abused. And that absolutely must be a traumatic and challenging and lonely thing to work through emotionally.
Lady J already mentioned a bit of an intersectionality mess that is likely clouding some people’s judgement in terms of this story. I agree. I think this issue of boys who grew up to identify as heterosexual can play into that.
Heterosexual men who experience trauma and shame over homosexual abuse they suffered as a minor should NOT be attacked in anyway, called homophobic, nor criticized for having those feelings. Obviously we know of a well known person who was abused as a child by a heterosexual male, but grew up to identify as a homosexual female. I’m sure there is a painful amount of trauma associated with that part of her abuse as well.
People should be sensitive and treat these issues with a lot of compassion. Adults, both heterosexual and homosexual who engage in sexual activity with immature people who are minors and still trying to determine their own identity damage and traumatize these young people in a profoundly selfish way that makes me angry. Everyone’s autonomy on these issues, and right to make their own choices and explore and choose what works for them and feels right in terms of intimacy and how they identify sexually as hey reach maturity should be respected.
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