Morris Backs Kennedy: Honest and Fair

John Morris, the two-time Olympic champion from Canada, posted on his social media on Saturday night.

The subject of the short thread was his longtime teammate Marc Kennedy, who shared in Vancouver 2010 gold with Morris.

“Let me take a moment to set the record straight on the men’s curling situation (at the Olympics), Morris wrote. “Marc Kennedy is hands down one of the most honest and fair teammates I’ve ever played with. Fierce competitor? Absolutely. Cheater? Not a chance.

“The stress and intensity at the Olympics are real... let’s cut these athletes some slack and crack open a Corona Zero, grab some popcorn, and enjoy some must-see TV.”

Sweden accused Kennedy and Canada of delivery violations earlier this week in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which prompted action from World Curling.

Since then, two additional competitors – Great Britain second Bobby Lammie and Canada women’s skip Rachel Homan – have had stones pulled during the Olympic competition.

“The reality is, no curling official at these Olympics has ever been asked to make this call in a competition before, and expecting them to do so under such intense pressure is a tough ask – especially when the outcome of the shot is almost certainly unaffected,” Morris continued.

“The accusation against him is an infraction that, in my entire career, I’ve never once seen called in a competition. It’s incredibly subtle and likely something he’s been doing for years without even realizing it.”