As always, there are two (or more) sides to each story.  Morris has issued
his statement on what happened.  Here's two paragraphs from that
statement:

"This was a done deal before the investigation even started, or so it
appeared. Clarkson had contacted their attorney about my termination
before the investigation was started. After obtaining legal advice, I chose
not to participate in the investigation because it was not independent. It
was conducted by Clarkson's own law firm which had already been
consulted about my termination.

"Here's exactly what happened. As is customary, we play shinny after our
pre game skate. I had been struck once prior by one of my players into
the boards. I skated over to the player, put my arm around his shoulder
and made a comment to him. The second time he hit me was during our
shinny game, we play four on four. I felt as though I was being threatened,
and I attempted to defend myself. I told the player to take his things out of
the locker. And in 15 seasons I've played shinny with a lot of guys and I've
never been body checked into the boards before. We've had some games
that have gotten pretty heated over time but never have been body
checked into the boards by a player."

You can find the full story at:

http://www.uscollegehockey.com/news/2002/11/15_005436.php

Doug Peterson