A wide receiver who last year was convicted of indecent exposure signed a letter of intent with Arkansas State University on Monday night.
Kirk Merritt, who was dismissed from the Texas A&M football team in April, pleaded 'no contest' to two charges of indecent exposure on Aug. 21 and received two years of community supervision, a $500 fine and 40 hours of community service, according to court documents from Brazos County (Texas) judicial records.
Merritt transferred to East Mississippi Community College -- the subject of two seasons of the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U -- for the 2017 season.
Red Wolves Coach Blake Anderson said Tuesday that he, Athletic Director Terry Mohajir, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse, President Charles Welch and legal counsel were involved in the decision to accept Merritt, and that he was vetted "very thoroughly."
"We go through the process as thoroughly as we can," Anderson said. "Once we talk to everyone, we make a determination of whether we feel like we proceed. We turn away a lot [of other players with similar records].
"This is one that we felt strongly -- that once we talked to everyone that we could who knew the young man, knew how he carried himself both before and after -- felt he deserved another opportunity. Legal counsel all felt the same."
Anderson said he "would rather not" give specific names of those they spoke with regarding Merritt.
Damphousse said in a statement that Anderson "approached me about the possibility of recruiting a student-athlete who had transferred from Texas A&M University to East Mississippi [Community] College."
"Because the student-athlete had [pleaded] 'no contest' in a criminal case while attending TAMU, Coach Anderson wanted me to be aware of the situation," Damphousse said in the statement. "After carefully vetting the facts, I supported Coach Anderson's decision to recruit Mr. Merritt."
ASU has signed similar players in the past two seasons.
In 2016, ASU signed Kendall Sanders, who was dismissed by the University of Texas athletic department after a 2014 sexual-assault charge for which he was later found not guilty.
In 2017, ASU signed Darreon Jackson, who started at Boise State before he was suspended after a university sexual-assault investigation.
"None of us are defined by one mistake," Anderson said. "We have not had any further incidents, and they have all done really well. They're good at taking care of themselves and moving toward a degree."
According to judicial records, Merritt exposed his genitals to two athletic department tutors on consecutive days in October 2016.
Merritt's attorney cited a "bad case of jock itch" as Merritt's defense, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The court required that Merritt write apology letters to the victims, according to the judicial records.
There have been no reported incidents since, and East Mississippi Community College offensive coordinator David Boykin said Merritt has "been nothing but a great individual" since arriving at the Mississippi campus.
Merritt did not respond to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's request for comment.
"Kirk was a high-character kid when he came here," Boykin said. "Came from a great family. He was a great person. He was, of course, he was a very talented football player also. A great teammate. Did everything the right way."
Boykin texted Merritt on Monday night, congratulating him on his next opportunity.
"Arkansas State's getting a dynamic football player and a great person as well," Boykin said. "He'll be a model citizen, and he'll take care of his work in the classroom."
Anderson said Merritt will arrive at the Jonesboro campus later this week.
"He did all the things that were put in front of him to do," Anderson said.
Merritt caught 52 passes for 628 yards and 4 touchdowns as a sophomore this season for East Mississippi Community College, which won the junior-college national title with a 31-28 victory over Arizona Western.
Sports on 01/17/2018