https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/01/15/klete-keller-capitol-olympic-swimming/


If his 6-foot-6 frame and familiar face, covered by a beard but not a mask, didn’t give away Keller’s identity to those who knew him, one chilling, telltale detail certainly did: the Team USA jacket he was wearing, with the U.S. Olympic Team patch on the front left shoulder.

But in the aftermath of last week’s abortive insurrection at the Capitol — which resulted in five deaths and left Keller, along with others who participated, facing federal charges — the questions haunting his friends, former teammates and coaches are the ones they have struggled to answer: How? And why?

*** Bulk of article removed. Please post links and a summary, but not entire articles. Thanks! -- CZ ***



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2021 03:42PM by Concrete Zipper.

> “I’m not a psychologist, but maybe
> he was trying to draw attention to
> himself,” Gaines said. “Maybe it’s
> one of those things where you want
> to get caught, just so you can
> finally get some help.”


This strikes me as a purposeful low-blow, and I hope the referee calls him on it.

Shockingly, Believers can and do really, truly believe. You can call someone out for being wrong, but you can't always call them out on their commitment.

Plus we don't know what he thought might be the positive (to all parties involved) outcomes of what they were doing. Sure, he probably knew that there were forces arrayed against him, but he could truly have thought his effort was worth it.

...love the sinner, hate the sin?

I was a Republican, but I got help.

The more reasonable Republicans need to get control back of their party. They've given it over to the crazies.

Not really on topic, but the psychological stresses on former Olympic athletes are intense. Rates of depression and suicide are much higher than normal.

HBO did a very good documentary on this: The Weight of Gold. I invite all to partake.

It's definitely worth watching. Michael Phelps, Kyle Ono, Lolo Jones: these and other stars are interviewed about the problem. There is also a section where they discuss the US bobsled team, one of whose leaders killed himself in about 2015. Besides Jones, the movie producers interview Steve Holcomb, the best US "driver," about that death. Then in 2017, Holcomb too killed himself.

Those are people who dedicated their lives to a single event, after which they had nothing left. Job interview: "that's really cool that you have an Olympic gold, but can you take dictation?"

If that interests you, you should consider Icarus, too. It's about doping in high-level sports.


Weight of Gold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGdIh3ciSk


Icarus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXoRdSTrR-4

I've watched a number of elite level and Olympic athletes make the transition, and it's not an easy one.

The athlete who I think had the most difficult time was one of the highest achieving. He was so used to maintaining a high level of focus, and working insanely hard, that I think he found it nearly impossible to relate to ordinary people at first. He found it difficult to grasp the concept that you could go to work, do a decent job of it, and then come home and rest, and be okay with that. It probably took him a good 8-10 years to not be so hyped up all of the time.

That makes sense.

I've spent some of my life peripherally involved with high-level athletes and personally know some of the people interviewed in that documentary. It's a disaster.

In Russia, if you win a gold medal in the Olympics you are guaranteed a post in the State Duma and honors and honoraria for the rest of your life--and you keep those perquisites even after WADA revokes your wins due to drug offenses. In the US, you have to pay for most of your training and then after the fact you get some glory and nothing else. Within a few months you are just another person with a second-rate education and no marketable skills. Employers want an interview so they can say they met Apollo Ono but they rarely hire.

The US really needs to do more for those who garner glory for the cause.

And in the U.S., some go into coaching or related fields (which have their own sets of issues,) but most don't.

Sweet Jesus! Keller was at USC fer Chrissakes.

How many times do student athletes need to be told that the chance of them going pro in any sport is infinitesimal and they'd better get a degree? Yet they are at elite colleges and they don't get a degree.

You don't need to tell me about how hard they work and have little time to study and that the term "student athlete" is not simply a misnomer. My neighbor in student housing went to the Raiders in the second round of the NFL draft. After ~three years, he was cut and played in Canada for a while. No idea where he is now.

So, yeah. It's hard. And it's hard for actors and models as they age out of their professions. And it's hard for the Bobby Fischers of the world. And it's wrong that they are treated so poorly.

You think Keller should get a ceremonial seat in the building he tried to destroy?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2021 12:47PM by Beth.

I know in the Olympic sport that I closely follow, athletes are encouraged to pursue and complete their educations. The sport's governing body had a formal arrangement with a state university at one point. Even now, many athletes take classes while they are training.

Yes. And the EA settlement with college athletes is a joke.

I hope they can get residuals from having their likenesses used in video games. I don't know the status, and I'm too lazy to Google it. :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2021 02:14PM by Beth.

So...

What's your point? Do you think he's worse off than any of the other insurrectionists? Should we pity him and give him a pass?

I was asking LW

No, Beth. As I said, my comment was off topic.

You did, but it's a sympathetic comment on a thread about the poor, poor man who stormed the capital.

He was a phenom. Phenoms have tough lives, especially if they don't come from money. Regular people have tough lives, especially if they don't come from money. The vast, vast majority of people who have tough lives did *not* storm the Capitol.

I give no quarter to *any* of them unless they were incapable of consenting to storm the Capitol.

He's worse than the rest of the rabble. He represented his country in the Olympics and then tried to tear his country down.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2021 02:15PM by Beth.

In the linked article below, his ex-wife says that he's been having serious issues for a number of years now.

Right. How many of the other insurrectionists have been divorced, homeless, etc.

I don't know what PR machine is pumping out these articles about Keller (I'm looking at *you* USA Swimming and the NOC), but he's the lucky one. Pity the poor fools who aren't getting this type of press.

I read "serious issues" to be referring more to his mental state, of which his other problems are a manifestation. I'm not excusing him, just noting that he apparently hasn't been quite right for a while.

I understand, and I agree. My problem is that he's getting preferential treatment by the press.

There was a mentally-ill Black man in the Capitol. He thinks he's a journalist. He's not. His brother speaks at white supremacist rallies. The latter did not storm the Capitol, but WTH is up with a Black man supporting white supremacy? Both were adopted by white Mormon parents. It's possible the self-hate has its roots there. THREAD NOW ON TOPIC!

:-D

The guy who thinks he's a reporter has a history of mental illness. The one who speaks at white supremacist rallies doesn't appear to have mental health issues.

The brother who stormed the Capitol? I haven't seen any puff pieces about him, only WTH?! Send his ass to jail along with Keller. I wish that our penal system focused on restorative justice and future integration into society. If that were the case, maybe both would receive helpful treatment in jail. But it doesn't. It's punitive, and that's a completely different and important discussion.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2021 03:27PM by Beth.

I think at a minimum anyone who breached the Capitol building should be charged. Obviously, some will face additional charges.

Here's an interesting bio about Klete. I assumed that because he was in three Olympic games (with five Olympic medals,) that he would have had ample opportunity to garner sponsorships and build his net worth -- and he may have, to at least some degree. But apparently after the 2008 Olympics, his life spiraled downward. His wife divorced him and he was homeless for a while.

https://starsoffline.com/klete-keller-wife-kids-capitol-riots-net-worth-parents/