There have been quite a few people who have seen consequences after being identified as amongst the mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol building last week, but Tuesday saw a notable sports connection there. On Tuesday, Karen Crouse and Victor Mather of The New York Times reported that former U.S. Olympic swimmer Klete Keller (who won a total of five Olympic medals while competing for the U.S. from 2000 through 2008, including two golds as a member of the 2X200m relay team) was identified by former teammates and coaches as a participant in that insurrection. As Annika Johnson of SwimSwam wrote later Tuesday, “A tall man in that video can be seen wearing a US Olympic Team jacket as police attempt to clear the Rotunda. At least a dozen people within the sport have identified that individual to SwimSwam as the 6’6” Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller after reviewing the video and screenshots.” Here’s that video (screencapped above), from Julio Rosas (a reporter for conservative outlet Townhall Media):
Trump supporters fought back after Capitol Police moved in to retake the Rotunda. pic.twitter.com/4e7mNyqWZy
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 6, 2021
It’s certainly not a great look for USA Swimming to have a prominent former athlete like Keller playing an active role in this insurrection, and doing so while wearing a U.S. Olympic Team jacket. And this also isn’t great for the schools (USC and Michigan) where Keller trained. We’ll see if those bodies and schools try to distance themselves from him in the days ahead.
[SwimSwam]
