John Gerald Geddert (December 21, 1957 – February 25, 2021) was an American

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

coach, who was a head coach of the gold-medal 2012 U.S. women's Olympic team and regular coach of team member

Jordyn Wieber Jordyn Marie Wieber Brooks ( Wieber; born July 12, 1995) is an American former artistic gymnast and current gymnastics coach. Since April 2019, she has been the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. Wieber began competing in ...

. He retired when suspended by

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. It sets the domestic rules and policies that govern the sport, promotes and develops gymnastics on the grassroots ...

in 2018 after being implicated in the

USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal relates to the sexual abuse of hundreds of gymnasts—primarily Minor (law), minors—over two decades in the United States, starting in the 1990s. It is considered the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports ...

centered on his long-time associate

Larry Nassar Lawrence Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former family medicine osteopathic physician and convicted sex offender. From 1996 to 2014, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team, where he use ...

. Geddert committed suicide in 2021, shortly after being charged with 24 criminal charges, including 20 counts of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

of a minor, one count each of first-degree criminal

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

, second-degree criminal sexual assault involving a minor, and lying to a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

Gymnastics clubs

From 1984, Geddert was head coach at Great Lakes Gymnastics Club in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, where he first worked with Larry Nassar. In 1988, Geddert was named Male Coach of the Year for the United States Gymnastic Federation in Michigan. He won the Federation's Regional Coach of the Year award in 1990 and 1991. He was later fired from Great Lakes Gymnastics Club. In 1996, Geddert founded the Twistars USA Gymnastics Club in Dimondale. The club has a back room, where Nassar regularly treated and sexually molested young female athletes. In 2018, Geddert handed over ownership and management of the gym to his wife, Kathryn, in the wake of the Nassar sex abuse scandal.

Coaching style

Many former gymnasts have described Geddert's coaching style as intense, strict, and abusive. Several former gymnasts have recounted that Geddert repeatedly told them to kill themselves. He was known to throw items in his gym when angered. On one occasion, Geddert shoved a gymnast forcefully enough for her to sustain a black eye, ruptured

lymph node A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that includ ...

s in her neck, and torn muscles in her stomach. In 2013, Geddert was under criminal investigation for his abusive treatment of gymnasts. The Eaton County Prosecutor's office stated there was enough evidence to charge Geddert, but allowed Geddert to seek counseling instead. In December 2013, a former employee of Geddert contacted

to inform them of Geddert's abuse of his athletes. USA Gymnastics stated they addressed the letter writer's concerns with Geddert, though the specific actions by USA Gymnastics were never made public. Geddert retired from coaching on January 23, 2018, one day after USA Gymnastics announced that he was suspended pending an investigation into his alleged abuse.

Involvement in U.S. sexual abuse scandal

Geddert's long-time association with

, who was convicted of sexually assaulting at least 150 women and girls, caused legal troubles for Geddert. Geddert and Nassar's close personal and professional relationships have led some to suspect that Geddert was aware of Nassar's abuse but did nothing about it. Many former gymnasts and parents have asserted that the intense and abusive environment Geddert created in his gym allowed for Nassar, a regular volunteer at Geddert's gym, to easily groom gymnasts and gain their trust. Several gymnasts have admitted that Geddert created such a hostile environment that they were unable to approach Geddert about the abuse. At least one former gymnast testified that Geddert walked in on a supposed medical session while Nassar was penetrating her with his fingers. The witness stated that Geddert joked about her injury and left the room.

Prosecution and death

On February 25, 2021, Geddert was charged with 24 felony crimes: 14 counts of human trafficking-forced labor resulting in injury, six counts of human trafficking of a minor for forced labor, and one count each of continuing criminal enterprise, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation. Hours after being charged, Geddert fatally shot himself at a rest area off

Interstate 96 Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway that runs for approximately entirely within the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an i ...

Watertown Charter Township, Michigan Watertown Charter Township is a charter township of Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,563 in the 2020 census, which was a big increase from 4,836 at the 2010 census. Communities * Wacousta is a small unincorpor ...

References

External links

Official website (archived from July 2017)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geddert, John 1957 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides American gymnastics coaches American rapists Central Michigan University alumni Male suicides People from Alpena, Michigan Sports coaches from Michigan Suicides by firearm in Michigan Child sexual abuse in the United States People charged with sex crimes