Gymnasts, parents react to death of former coach John Geddert - WDIV John Geddert, former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach through the years Skip to . "All of those details matter," Kondos Field says. But, Mittleman said he believes Geddert had a much bigger role in the abuse. "Having her in the stands gives me a great perspective of what our show is like and how we can make it better.". "[32], Later in March, Wieber competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. Just 24 hours earlier, former USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert, Wieber's longtime personal coach and the head coach of the 2012 Olympic team on which she was a star, was charged with two dozen crimes. She served as the floor exercise coach for the Bruins, helping them finish the 2018 and 2019 regular seasons ranked number 1 on the event. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources. They remember what it was like to be young gymnasts seeking compassion and college students struggling to manage classes and athletics. "The culture we all grew up in is you do what you're told when you're told and you don't argue," Wieber says. Both times, prosecutors declined to press charges. Then I actually stopped for a little bit to do dance class. Thinking of the survivors out there. His lawyer did not respond to ABC News' request for comment on the charges. "She didn't say, 'Well, let's see if we make NCAAs first.' "I try to draw on that younger, athlete version of Jordyn and what she needed from a coach that maybe she didn't get," Wieber says. "[68], In 2013, Wieber signed a sponsorship agreement with Adidas Gymnastics. In tough moments, when Wieber sees one of her gymnasts struggling, she thinks back to her own days in the gym. Even those who were already exceptional are even more so. Rita. Coach John Geddert drove young gymnasts to the point of injury, then sent them to Lawrence G. Nassar, the doctor who abused them sexually. "Many of these victims still carry these scars from his behavior to this day.". His young athletes were allegedly subjected to "excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform even while injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault," Nessel said at a Thursday press conference announcing the charges. "I know what it feels like to have a coach, someone you cared about and was so much a part of your success, turn out to be somebody who did so much damage.". "We started the day trying to figure out if our senior night meet was going to happen the next day. The "investigation is ongoing; no further details will be released at this time," according to a police statement. John Geddert seen coaching Jordyn Wieber during the American Cup gymnastics meet in New York on March 3, 2012. . "When this opportunity came up, I asked him, 'If I get this job, do you want to come with me and do this together?'" When one person does that, they give permission to others to do the same.". Geddert, 60, of Grand Ledge, coached the gold medal winning 2012 U.S . "This is & has always been bigger than John Geddert, Marvin Sharpe, Steve Penny, and Larry Nassar," she continued on Twitter. [49], In June, Wieber competed at the Visa Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. We also reached out to the Attorney General's Office, but they declined to comment until the investigation into Geddert is over. [15], 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. John Geddert, 63, was facing dozens of charges in connection to the abuse of young athletes, and worked for years alongside serial gymnastics predator Larry Nassar, who was found to have abused. In 2011 and 2013, the police questioned Geddert about assault and battery accusations. On one occasion, she said, Geddert was in the room and saw Nassar touching her nipples, then began joking with Nassar about the size of Teristis breasts. Geddert faced 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor causing injury, one count of racketeering, two counts of criminal sexual conduct for assaulting a girl under the age of 16 and one count of lying to a peace officer. In this July 31, 2012, file photo, John Geddert, coach of the US women's gymnastics team, is shown during the Women's Team Gymnastics competition at the 2012 Olympics in London.