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Ex-USA Gymnastics coach dies by suicide after being charged with human trafficking

25 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

The body of John Geddert was found on Thursday, just hours after the former USA Gymnastics coach was charged with 24 counts of criminal misconduct, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

What they're saying: “My office has been notified that the body of John Geddert was found late this afternoon after taking his own life. This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved," Nessel said in a statement.

The big picture: Geddert, who coached the 2012 U.S. women's gold-winning Olympic team, worked closely with Larry Nassar, the disgraced physician convicted of multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and child pornography.

  • Earlier Thursday, Nessel announced the charges against Geddert, 63, which included, 14 counts of human trafficking and forced labor causing injury; six counts of human trafficking of a minor for forced labor; one count of continuing criminal enterprise; one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct; and one count of lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation.
  • Geddert owned and operated Twistars USA Gymnastics gym near Lansing, Michigan, where Nassar also treated several gymnasts.
  • "Geddert sold his reputation as an Olympic-level coach and promised to unsuspecting parents that he could turn his students into world-class athletes, allowing them to secure college scholarships, the attorney general's office alleges," according to a news release from Nessel's office.
  • Nessel said at a news conference earlier Thursday that Geddert “used force, fraud and coercion against the young athletes that came to him for gymnastics training for financial benefit" to him.
  • "The victims suffer from disordered eating, include bulimia and anorexia, suicide attempts and self-harm, excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform even when injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault," she said.
  • "Many of his victims still carry the scars from this behavior to this day," she added.
  • Geddert was expected to turn himself in earlier on Thursday, according to Nessel's office. Geddert's lawyer, Chris Bergstrom, did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.