Earl Morris, former USU chief of police and public safety director. Photo: Utah State University
LOGAN, Utah — Earl Morris has resigned from the role of chief of police at Utah State University. Morris’s resignation comes days after his comments about sexual assault to the university’s football team were made public.
KSL.com’s Jacob Scholl reported on the developments.
Scholl explained that recordings of Morris addressing the USU football team were published earlier in the week by KSL. He summarized the comments Morris made.
The KSL.com reporter said, in the recordings, Morris is heard telling football players that they live in a “Mormon community.” Morris then added that, as such, women may regret having sex after the fact, which could lead to reports of sexual assault.
“Oftentimes it’s easier to say, ‘No, no, no, that wasn’t consensual,'” Morris can be heard saying on the recording.
A day after placing Morris on administrative leave, Scholl reported, Utah State announced in a news release Thursday that Morris resigned. In the release, University officials called Morris’ comments to the football team “reprehensible and unacceptable.”
The KSL.com article explained Morris began the role with USU in 2019. With his resignation, the university appointed Kent Harris as the interim police chief and public safety director.