NYT: Klete Keller Apologizes to Former Coach

Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller has not spoken to the media since SwimSwam broke the news last week that he was inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6. But according to the New York Times, he has spoken to former coaches and expressed remorse. Mark Schubert, who was Keller’s coach at USC, told the Times that he called his former swimmer after he was charged in U.S. District Court with three counts related to the Capital uprising. Keller had broken down in tears and apologized to Schubert, saying, “You’ve done so much for me, and I let you down,” according to the article.

For the last week, the swimming community has been trying to come to terms with Keller’s involvement in the uprising. How, people ask, could someone who represented his country at the highest level -at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games- participate in an effort to subvert the democratic process of certifying the election? And while Keller has not given any interviews, his conversation with Schubert gives us a glimpse into his thinking: “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he repeated several times.

Keller has had a difficult time adjusting to life outside of the pool. He told USA Swimming in an interview in June 2018, “Within a matter of a few years, I went from Olympic gold medalist to husband, homeowner, guy with a series of sales jobs – life insurance, software, medical devices, financial products – and father of three, and I had a really difficult time accepting who I was without swimming in my life,” he said. “Swimmer had been my identity for most of my life, and then I quickly transitioned to other roles and never gave myself time to get comfortable with them. I really struggled with things. I didn’t enjoy my work, and that unhappiness and lack of identity started creeping into my marriage.” After his divorce, he experienced deep depression and spent nearly a year living out of his car. “I was paying child support for my kids and couldn’t afford a place, so I lived in my car for almost a year. I had a Ford Fusion at the time, so at 6-foot-6, it was challenging to make the room to sleep. But I made it work.”

Keller told USA Swimming he working his way back up, after having hit the bottom. He was selling commercial real estate and had hired an attorney to file for the rights to see his children, whom he had not seen for years following a bitter custody battle.

Now, he risks 15½ years in prison if he is convicted of all three counts against him: violent entry, disorderly conduct and obstructing law enforcement.

Keller turned himself in to law enforcement late last week and was released, without bail, with restrictions on his movements.

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Michael
3 years ago

Shameful…lots of people had it infinitely worse than him without any glory of winning Olympic gold and having the opportunities most would dream of. His privileged life and talent wasted. There is no excuse, especially when we see many without the talent or privilege facing hard times. They don’t commit insurrection with a bunch of people who believed a liar, when everyone knows he lied, then move right into committing crimes, starting with illegal entry..into the CAPITAL!!! Former Officers and Enlisted Military, Current and former Law Enforcement, USA Olympic Gold medal recipients, all believed the lies told to them over and over. I didn’t vote for Trump, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt for over a year… Read more »

Caterpillar
3 years ago

Maybe we should think about giving sentences that make the most of someone’s knowledge and skills. So for him, how about coaching an underprivileged swim team in an under-developed area for a few years?

Vanilla Gorilla
3 years ago

Just here for all the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” comments from the conservatives

Guerra
3 years ago

Let’s all live in peace, love and harmony…

Texas Tap Water
Reply to  Guerra
3 years ago

Lol.

Try telling that to Trumpers, Proud Boys, Parler, and MAGA folks

Sam B
3 years ago

very sad, I hope he won’t be convicted and figure out a path back to normal. America loves a good come-back story.

westcoastbestcoast
Reply to  Sam B
3 years ago

I love a comeback. But a comeback from this case isn’t “Some Trump loyalist rewarded me for my law-breaking by giving me a 6-figure job,” or “I struggled with mental health, this was all mental health’s fault and now I work as a spokesperson for a mental health app.”

To me, any comeback that means anything has to begin with “I made a mistake” and a rejection of the BS that led to this happening. I’m not saying he has to embrace socialism, or embrace liberalism – I’m saying that he has to acknowledge that Trumpism, specifically, this chaotic egoistic approach to the world, is problematic and not to be exhalted.

Sam B
Reply to  westcoastbestcoast
3 years ago

I am not saying he didn’t commit a crime. I am saying I hope all he committed was he was inside the capitol and the judge will go easy on him. Anyone who vandalized the building, and attacked the police should have their day in court and get convicted if found guilty of those

Agustin (Tre) Arbulu
3 years ago

Hey apologize to the injured police officers not just your former coach.

everyones talking
3 years ago

did mark forgive him?

westcoastbestcoast
Reply to  everyones talking
3 years ago

Anybody who knows Mark knows that he wasn’t mad about it in the first place.

There’s a reason he made Mark his first call – he wanted a sympathetic ear who would tell him he did nothing wrong.

Old Swim Coach
3 years ago

 “Swimmer had been my identity for most of my life, and then I quickly transitioned to other roles and never gave myself time to get comfortable with them. I really struggled with things.”

Charges aside, we all need to really look at our athletes and realize that we need to do better and offer more supports for athletes post-competition. We have seen this pattern over and over. Maybe not to the level of storming the capital, but how many former swimmers (and athletes in other sports) struggle with undocumented mental health issues? This could be handled better through athlete, coach, and parent education. No one really likes to talk about life post-swimming, but the reality is that it doesn’t last… Read more »

About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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