Kansas

Rape case dismissed against former Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2024

Rape case dismissed against former Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The case that saw Arterio Morris charged with rape has been dismissed, according to online court records for Douglas County, Kansas, and Morris’ defense attorney.

Morris, a former Kanas basketball player, was arrested this past September and removed from the KU program after the one count of rape was brought. Earlier this year, there was a move made to resolve the case before there was an evidentiary hearing. And now Morris won’t face that charge at all. A KU spokesperson declined comment.

Morris was scheduled to have his next hearing Wednesday. He was, according to a complaint document, facing a “severity level 1 person felony” that carried a range of penalty of “a minimum of 147 months to a maximum of 653 months in prison and/or a fine of up to $300,000 and 36 months of post-release supervision, pursuant to K.S.A. 21-6804, 21-6807, 21-6611(a)(2), & 22-3717(d)(1)(A), and amendments thereto.”

But that is no longer the case.

“For about two years we have stayed silent waiting for justice to run its course, but also trusting that the truth would come to light; which is that I am not guilty of the horrible allegations made against me,” Morris said in a social media post on Instagram. “It has been a path of trials, sorrow, and despair; but also one in which I was able to grow and become wiser to discern who I invite into my life. Today, I close a horrible chapter in my life and now I look into my future with hope and with more desire to be who I was destined to be. I am moving forward with God and my family by side.”

Hatem Chahine, Morris’ defense attorney, said he anticipated this outcome. Chahine noted he was involved with the Title IX investigation and KU hearing concerning Morris, which was also dismissed. Because the criminal matter has a higher standard than the Title IX case, it seemed possible this would be the outcome.

The request for dismissal in the criminal case came from the district attorney’s office, according to Chahine. That happened due to insufficient evidence, which Chahine agreed with. Chahine added he wishes Morris the best, hopes Morris can play in the future in college and left the door open to Morris potentially pursuing a civil recourse.

“When you get charged with something you believe you’re innocent for,” Chahine said, “make sure you get a good attorney.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on X at @JordanGuskey.

Source link

Click to comment

Kansas

What are Kansas State football’s recruiting needs for early signing day? What you need to know

Published

4 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Press Room

What are Kansas State football’s recruiting needs for early signing day? What you need to know

MANHATTAN — Kansas State football has no time to rest after the regular season ended. The Wildcats will now transition into recruiting mode with the early National Signing Day period beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and ending on Friday, Dec. 5.

Chris Klieman will enter his eighth season hoping to rebuild the Wildcats into a Big 12 championship contender and challenge for the program’s first appearance in the College Football Playoff.

There are a lot of holes that Kansas State will need to fill, but it’s landed a handful of commitments from promising recruits, who will put pen to paper this week.

Here are some recruiting needs for K-State and questions it will need to answer over the next few months.

K-State football 2026 recruiting tracker

Kansas State is going to need a starting running back

This is probably more for the transfer portal, but the Wildcats need to make sure they have the starting running back position covered and depth in case of an emergency. The Dylan Edwards injury hurt the offense for most of the season.

HD Davis, a three-star 6-foot running back out of Wolfe City (Texas), is currently the Wildcats’ lone commit to their backfield. He’s been highly productive this year, rushing for 2,429 yards and 30 touchdowns, bringing him to over 6,300 yards and 73 touchdowns for his career.

We’ll see if Joe Jackson can take a step next year after taking positive steps in the latter half of the season when he got comfortable in the leading role. He rushed for a school-record 293 yards on Nov. 22 against Utah, giving him something to build off. Barring transfers, the Wildcats are also set to return Devon Rice, JB Price, Antonio Martin Jr. and Monterrio Elston Jr.

Would Kansas State be ready for a life without Avery Johnson?

The Wildcats should be thinking about their future without Avery Johnson, whether or not he enters the transfer portal. If he stays in Manhattan, he’ll have one more season before graduation, turning eyes toward those on the roster and the Wildcats’ potential targets in the portal.

Thankfully, Johnson has been healthy since he became the full-time starter prior to the 2024 season, but those behind him have minimal experience. Jacob Knuth, Blake Barnett, Dillon Duff and Hudson Hutcheson follow him on the depth chart, and none have taken any meaningful snaps, outside of Barnett when he enters the game as somewhat of a power back in a Wildcat formation.

Miles Teodecki, a three-star out of Vandegrift (Texas), is expected to sign with the Wildcats. Entering the weekend, he had thrown for 1,729 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions this season.

Kansas State needs depth along the offensive line

The offensive line is taking the biggest hit with this year’s graduations. Contributors, including Sam Hecht, Andrew Leingang, Taylor Poitier, JB Nelson and Terrence Enos Jr., are all listed as seniors. The main returners include John Pastore, Devin Vass and Gus Hawkins. It’ll be difficult for K-State to go into the offseason banking on that George Fitzpatrick will be good to go after missing this year after an offseason medical emergency.

The offensive line has been a focus for the Wildcats’ early recruiting, with five commitments. The team’s highest-ranked commit is Justin Morales, an offensive tackle out of Franklin (Texas), who is listed as a four-star prospect and the No. 31 player at his position.

Can Kansas State hit on its wide receiver targets?

The Wildcats were thin at wide receiver this season, thanks in large part to injuries, but they need more development and depth at the position. They need to get into a spot where they can be comfortable with Linkon Cure lining up as a tight end rather than being split out wide. Having Jayce Brown and Jerand Bradley impacted by injury for at least half the season didn’t help matters. There is some promise in Jaron Tibbs and Adonis Moise.

K-State has two wide receiver commits. Derrick Salley Jr. committed on Nov. 25 as the No. 1 juco receiver in the country and should be an instant-impact player. Fellow commit Maxwell Lovett, a three-star out of Cherry Creek (Colorado), caught 34 passes for 700 yards and eight touchdowns his senior year.

K-State’s receivers need to produce more than they did during the 2025 season. Salley is a great get, and more will be needed, whether it’s via the high school route or by trying again in the transfer portal.

How deep is Kansas State at linebacker without Des Purnell?

K-State is set to lose Des Purnell to graduation after his standout season. There’s also the chance that Austin Romaine will declare for the NFL Draft. The Wildcats are typically strong within this group, but there will rightfully be some questions heading into 2026. Rex Van Wyhe and Asa Newsom could be pushed into larger roles.

The Wildcats have a pair of committed linebackers, including four-star Lawson McGraw out of Blue Valley West. The son of former K-Stater Jon McGraw is rated as the No. 22 athlete in the country and should be someone to be excited about. Dejon Ackerson, out of Putnam City (Oklahoma), climbed to the No. 53 linebacker in his class.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

Source link

Kansas

Man pronounced dead at scene of car crash in Kansas City, Kansas

Published

22 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

Man pronounced dead at scene of car crash in Kansas City, Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – The Kansas City Police Department says one man has died after he was involved in a crash early Saturday morning.

Officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of North 38th Street in KCK around 7 a.m. on Nov. 29. There, they found a crashed gray SUV with an unresponsive man in the driver’s seat.

Paramedics were called to the scene and pronounced the man dead. His identity was not immediately released, but KCKPD said he was in his 60s.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but the man was reportedly driving north on 38th Street when he veered off the road and into a parking lot. His car hit two posts before coming to a stop.

No further information was released.

Source link

Kansas

What Utah players said after pivotal win over Kansas

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

What Utah players said after pivotal win over Kansas

Friday’s regular season finale for Utah football was a culmination of everything the Utes had done over the offseason to move past last season’s disappointing ending.

One play in the fourth quarter of Utah’s 31-21 win over Kansas embodied the turnaround Kyle Whittingham and his staff strove to achieve since the conclusion of their 5-7 finish to the 2024-25 campaign roughly a year ago.

Needing a first down to close out what had been a slugfest against the Jayhawks, New Mexico transfer Devon Dampier faked a quarterback draw play, stepped back and let a deep ball rip down the field to Larry Simmons, a transfer from Southern Mississippi who earned quite the reputation as a big-time playmaker as of late, for a 48-yard touchdown to put the Utes up by double-digits with just over 3 minutes to play.

“That’s something we’ve been working for a long time,” Simmons said of the play after the game. “And we finally got the chance to call it and we was able to execute it.”

It was even a longer wait for offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who originally drew up the play during his five years at Virginia (2016-2021) and had been patiently awaiting an opportunity to dial it up for the Utes.

The rest of the afternoon wasn’t smooth sailing for the Utes offense, though it got help from some big-time plays in the red zone from its defense. Three players from last season’s 5-7 squad — Smith Snowden, Jackson Bennee and Scooby Davis — picked off Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels on three separate drives that went as deep as the Utah 25-yard line, preventing Kansas from capitalizing off its effective rushing attack.

Bennee’s interception early in the fourth quarter helped set up a 4-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a 28-yard touchdown from Simmons’ putting the Utes back in front, 17-14, with just over 12 minutes remaining. Davis extended the lead not long after with a 97-yard interception returned for a touchdown, making it 24-14 with just under 8 minutes to play.

Kansas, which rushed for 290 yards and came just shy of eclipsing 450 total yards of offense on the day, responded with an 8-play, 93-yard drive to make it a 3-point game again.

Looking to put the game away, Utah delivered the final knockout punch with the deep ball to Simmons, keeping the Utes’ College Football Playoff and Big 12 title game hopes alive in the process.

Regardless of how the ensuing weekend slate played out, Utah doubled its win total while, at the very least, clinching a bowl game berth after missing the postseason entirely a year ago.

Here’s what Dampier and Bennee said after the game.

“First off, that was [offensive coordinator] Jason Beck. He does a lot of things week in, week out. We’ve been holding on to that play for a long time now, so the situation just presented itself. They got a little heavy to stop that run game and man, put Larry on the deep post, he’s gonna come down with it. So it’s kind of how that play just came up in that situation.”

“I think we held ourselves back multiple times; whether it was loss of yardage on the down, or penalties that put us in very bad third down situations. We hope to be more efficient than we were, but I mean, that’s what happens in football. Not everything’s gonna be perfect. It’s how you respond, and I think the offense did a great job of getting on top of that and helping the defense.”

“That’s a tremendous play that could have been useful for them and would have made it harder for us to come back.”

“Again, I’m proud of our defense. They were on it all night. Our offense was like, ‘Alright, defense been going out all game, it’s for us to go out there and do what we got to do.’”

Dampier: “It’s huge. For our goals at the beginning of the year, we hoped 10-2 gets us to what we want to do. But just from my standpoint, when I got here in January, we were not happy with how last year went. A turnaround needed to happen. We demanded it. Every day, coaches demanded out of us; players, we demanded it, and captains and all that stuff.”

“Just happy it all came together. We finished strong and saw that work we put in.”

“It just wasn’t our ball last week. Everybody knows that we just didn’t play our best football at all. But today, we just wanted to leave it in the past and continue with how we know how to play defense and gap, sound assignment, sound defense, and I thought we did well with that today.”