Iditarod bans musher indefinitely for domestic violence

ANCHORAGE — The Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors voted unanimously Friday to bar musher Travis Beals from the 2017 sled dog race and imposed an indefinite suspension on the Seward musher’s participation in the event.

The board’s resolution came following an hour-long executive session during its regularly-scheduled board meeting at the Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage.

Beals is currently facing charges in Palmer court of domestic violence against his girlfriend, who is also an Iditarod musher. It's the second time in less than a year Beals has been charged by the state with abusing the woman. He was convicted of domestic violence in July 2015.

Under Iditarod rules, any musher can be denied race entry if it's determined they "do not exemplify the spirit and principle" of the race.

Beals can apply for reinstatement to the 1,000-mile sled dog race from Willow to Nome in 2018, but his continued participation in the event is contingent upon "successful completion of all court ordered rehabilitation," according to the board's resolution.

Beals did not return a message seeking comment on Friday. He did not attend Friday's board meeting, and Nordman said he informed the musher of the board's decision via text message. Beals is the first musher to receive a ban or suspension from the Iditarod for domestic violence.

In July 2015, Beals was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence criminal mischief charge for an incident involving the same woman that happened in his hometown of Seward in May of 2015. According to court documents, Beals punched holes in the wall in the couple's bedroom, threw items around the room and placed the woman in fear he would hurt her. She fled the home and went to a friend's house, troopers wrote, before calling Beals's father to help with the situation. The father then called police.

In the police report describing the incident, the 28-year-old woman — who went on to complete the 2016 Iditarod — reported Beals had been violent with her in the past, and told a state trooper that the 24-year-old Beals had once punched her hard enough to break her arm.

Originally charged with assault, Beals pleaded to a lesser charge of domestic violence related criminal mischief for the incident and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 90 days suspended. He was also placed on probation through July 2016.

In December 2015, Beals was again charged with domestic violence after he allegedly grabbed the 28-year-old woman in a headlock and forcibly removed her from a cabin in Willow, according to a report by Alaska State Troopers. Beals was initially ordered to stay away from the woman after that incident, but she asked a judge to lift the no-contact order with a handwritten note delivered to the court in January.

That case is still working its way through the court system through Alaska's Court Coordinated Resources Project — also known as "Mental Health Court" — which aims to keep misdemeanor offenders out of jail and in treatment.

Iditarod officials said they investigated allegations of abuse against Beals, but have maintained they knew only about the pending charges and not the July conviction. Therefore, race director Mark Nordman determined no sanction was warranted against Beals prior to the 2016 race, which began March 6 in Willow.

In an email explaining his ruling sent on April 5, Nordman elaborated on the decision:

"Iditarod was aware of allegations of domestic violence involving him and another musher signed up to run the 2016 race," Nordman wrote. "After having received reports from various sources, in January I confirmed a complaint alleging domestic violence was filed in the Palmer District Court. I received a copy of the formal Complaint, and accessed the court file through the public record. Travis was arraigned in December and the case remains unresolved. Many of his court hearings are part of a court diversionary program wherein confidentiality prohibits full file access. From what is public, however, and relevant to this response, is the Palmer District Attorneys charged Travis and a Palmer judge released him on bond. As I understand the process, victims have the right to be heard when a judge sets bail, as is the District Attorney. When bail is set, in addition to victim input, the Judge considers a defendant’s criminal history, potential risk to the victim and to the community generally. Nothing in Travis’s bail conditions, no condition the court imposed, prevented Travis from running the race"

On Friday, Nordman reiterated that race officials didn't know about the other allegations against Beals until they were questioned about it by the Frontiersman in a follow-up to Nordman's April 5 email.

"The previous conviction, no, I hadn't heard anything about that," he said.

Nordman said he was also unaware of the allegation that Beals had broken the woman's arm, but did say he had heard the couple had personal problems.

"I didn't hear of a broken arm, per se, I heard of people arguing and fighting," he said.

In addition to the suspension, the board also decided to create a new advisory committee to deal with disciplinary matters in the future. Nordman said no specifics have been ironed out for how many people will serve on the committee and who will be asked to participate.

"It's a big project and we want to do it right," he said.

Board member Paul Gebhardt, of Kasilof, an 18-time Iditarod finisher, said in an interview after the board meeting that the board's decision will allow Beals to work on his personal issues and eventually return to the race.

"If he rehabilitates himself, more power to him," Gebhardt said.

He said the young musher — who finished 18th in the 2016 race and received approximately $17,000 in prize money — deserves a chance to redeem himself.

"People have to be willing to change their patterns and ways," he said.

The story of Beals's abuse was first reported last week on the website of veteran Alaska journalist Craig Medred, who operates craigmedred.news.

Willow musher Dallas Seavey won the 2016 Iditarod, claiming his third consecutive win an fourth title since 2012. Seavey won $75,000 and a new pick-up truck for the victory in the 44-year-old race, which is the state's most popular and well-known sporting event.

Here's the complete text of the board's Friday decision:

"The ITC Board recognizes that domestic violence is a pervasive problem in the State of Alaska nad society in general. It will immediately implement a process of reviewing its rules and policies, with the assistance of an advisory committee, with the objective of revising those rules for future races to better address this serious societal issue.

"The board hereby resolves, pursuant to Rules 1 and 2, that it will not accept race applications from Travis Beals in 2017 and for an indefinite period of time thereafter. The duration of the indefinite period of time beyond 2017 will depend in large part on documentation of successful completion of all court ordered rehabilitation."