Report: Kansas guard Arterio Morris was arrested on rape charge, dismissed from team

Kansas basketball guard Arterio Morris, who transferred to the Jayhawks via Texas earlier this offseason, was arrested and charged under one count of rape in Douglas County on Friday, and subsequently dismissed from the team, according to The Kansas City Star.

“KU basketball guard Arterio Morris was arrested on Friday, according to Douglas County booking logs,” wrote Shreyas Laddha of The Kansas City Star. “According to the logs, he was booked under one count of rape with the bond amount set at $75,000.

“A KU Athletics official told The Star Morris has been dismissed from the KU basketball team.”

While Kansas suspended Morris when the allegation was made, the Jayhawks acted swiftly following the news that he was arrested and charged in dismissing him from their program.

“When we learned of allegations regarding Arterio Morris, he was suspended from the Kansas men’s basketball program. We are now aware he has been arrested and charged, and he was dismissed from the program,” the KU Athletics official said, via Laddha. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further at this time.”

Continuing, a rape was reported at the 1700 block of Naismith Drive in late-August, according to logs from the KU police department via The Star. “The police incident report confirmed the location as McCarthy Hall, which houses the KU men’s basketball players among around 40 male residents and is located just south of Allen Fieldhouse,” wrote Laddha.

While fellow Kansas players Johnny Furphy and Elmarko Jackson were listed on the incident report as witnesses, a source told The Star they were interviewed after the fact and, “not involved in the incident at all.”

“The victim of the alleged rape is an 18-year-old Missouri woman, listed at 5-foot-3, 107 pounds,” wrote Laddha. “The alleged incident occurred between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 26 and was reported at around 9:50 p.m. on Aug. 27, according to the incident report.

“KU police department logs indicated on Friday, Sept. 15, that the case had been forwarded to the Douglas County district prosecutor.”

More on Arterio Morris, Kansas Jayhawks

Moreover, the sophomore guard transferred to Kansas this offseason after spending one season at Texas. Standing at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Morris averaged 4.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game last season for the Longhorns, who won the Big-12 conference tournament, ending the year with overall record of 29-9.

Additionally, this isn’t Morris’ lone legal issue. Earlier this month, Morris reportedly entered a plea deal to end a misdemeanor assault case against him in Texas, canceling a trial scheduled for October.

In the case, Morris was originally charged with a Class A misdemeanor on allegations he assaulted an ex-girlfriend in the Dallas area in June 2022. This incident allegedly occurred before Morris was enrolled at Texas. Despite the ongoing legal battle, Morris participated in all 38 of Texas’ games last season.

“The initial charge could have carried up to a year in jail,” according to the Associate Press. “After several trial delays, Morris entered a nolo contendere plea, also known as a no contest plea, to a Class C assault misdemeanor and must pay a $362 fine, Morris’ attorney, Justin Moore, said. The plea allows a defendant to accept consequences of the charge without admitting guilt.”

Arterio Morris was a five-star recruit and the No. 19 prospect in the Class of 2022, according to On3 Industry Ratings. Kansas head coach Bill Self was thrilled to add Morris to the program this offseason.

“Arterio was highly recruited coming out of high school and we watched him a ton his senior year at Kimball (High),” Self said in a release in May. “When he entered the portal, we went right after him. Arterio is one of the most talented guards in the country who hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential.”

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this article.