Sunday, December 23, 2018 ● The Gazette 1B

SPORTS

Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette

Jon Keller of Cedar Rapids says, “I try not to let it bother me,” about two incidents last year, in which he found out that his agent had been surveilling him in his bathroom, and that the coach of the Iowa
Barnstormers had been doing the same to the young athletes under his care.

STAYING STRONG
Exploited By Jeff Johnson, The Gazette
“I wouldn’t

C
EDAR RAPIDS — There’s a matter of factness in his
say this has
by former
voice as he relates his story. That catches you off
guard a bit, surprises you more.
Only once does Jon Keller seem to get emotional, scarred me ...
coach and that’s when he talks about his fiancee. They’ve
been dating for years, will be married in the fall.
I’d say you are
There is an internal promise from him here that discover- more aware
and agent, ing, in the span of about a month last winter, he likely was sex-
ually exploited by his youth basketball coach and his profes- now. More
sional baseball agent won’t affect him — or them — long term.
C.R.’s It can’t. It won’t. aware of your
“I think I’m stronger than that,” Keller said. “I wouldn’t say this has
scarred me. Obviously, it’s a part of me now. It’s something I have to live surroundings,
JON KELLER with and move forward on. I’d say you are more aware now. More aware
of your surroundings, and that you can’t really trust everybody.”
Keller, 26, was a fine athlete at Cedar Rapids Xavier High School, a top-of- and that you
the-line pitcher for the Saints baseball team and a wing player for the bas-

vows to ketball team that could shoot it with the best of them. He loved both sports
growing up, excelled despite finding out as a teenager he was diabetic.
can’t really trust
He decided to give AAU basketball a go in eighth grade. An individual
tryout with the emerging Iowa Barnstormers program was set up for him everybody.”
persevere ;; KELLER, PAGE 7B Jon Keller

IOWA FOOTBALL: ANALYSIS MIKE HLAS I THE GAZETTE

Yep, it’s an Iowa class Iowa walk-ons

You might not like the rankings now, but you
might like the ‘check in 2 years’ rankings
By Marc Morehouse, The Gazette
shine in runaway
Short-handed Hawkeyes
You’ve probably followed Iowa football
and recruiting long enough to know not to get romp over Savannah State
twisted by the rankings.

I
They should come with a giant caveat that OWA CITY — Sprained
reads “Let’s see in two years.” ankles are random,
Of course, that’s the motto for teams that isolated injuries. Yet,
don’t sign a mile of super heroes, which is the 21st-ranked Iowa men’s
most programs. basketball team has had a
With Iowa and head coach Kirk Ferentz, it’s Sioux City Journal
flu-like outbreak of them.
more about fit and culture. Riley Till sprained an
That said, the Hawkeyes filled needs on the Ezra Miller, a tackle for the Ridge View Raptors, officially ankle at practice Monday.
offensive line and tight end during the early
signed his national letter of intent to play collegiately at Ryan Kriener had one late Stephen Mally/The Gazette
the University of Iowa as a member of its recruiting class in Tuesday night’s game
signing period Wednesday. Let’s drop all pre- of 2019. Iowa forwards Cordell Pemsl (left)
tense and just agree Iowa is the premier tight here against Western Caro- and Luka Garza (right) head off the
end school in the country. The Hawkeyes lina.
© 2018 The Gazette

court with crutches after Iowa’s win

found two in Logan Lee and Josiah Miamen, freshman offensive lineman. Late in Friday’s prac- Saturday in Iowa City.
both of whom have offer lists that stack up There can be additions and subtractions, tice, Iowa starting forward
with any Midwestern prospect. but here’s something how the 20 prospects Luka Garza suffered one. er-Hawkeye Arena, where
Get to know Ezra Miller. He’s 6-foot-7, 310 may fit into Iowa’s plans: He had the injured foot in a he watched his teammates
pounds. The Holstein native might have a legit walking boot and was using
shot at the lineup next season. Yes, as a true ;; RECRUITING, PAGE 2B crutches Saturday in Carv- ;; HLAS, PAGE 4B
 Sunday, December 23, 2018 ● The Gazette 7B

SPORTS SUNDAY

Keller/‘I think I’m stronger than that’

;; FROM PAGE 1B
at Marion High School.
Jon’s father, Al, took him. The
Barnstormers representative was
Greg Stephen.
“I think I took, like, 30 shots, and I
did not miss a single one,” Jon said. “It
was incredible. And my dad goes ‘Well,
Greg, do you want to see anything
else?’ Greg just goes ‘Nope.’”
Stephen pleaded guilty in mid-Oc-
tober to five counts of sexual exploita-
tion of minors, one count of possessing
child pornography and one count of
transporting child pornography. He
awaits sentencing and could receive
up to 180 years in prison.
He admitted in court to engaging in
sexually explicit conduct to produce
videos with five former Barnstormers
players under the age of 18. His com-
puter hard drive contained folders of
nearly 400 boys: explicit photos and
videos of them he had accumulated
over the years as a coach.
Prosecutors said Stephen set up
cameras in the bathrooms of hotel
rooms he and his players would share
at out-of-town tournaments. He did the
same at his home in Monticello and his
cabin at Lake Delhi, places he would
invite players to join him.
“From what I remember, I never
stayed in the same room as Greg. I was
always around him with other guys,”
Keller said. “He was very nice, would
do anything for you. It was kind of
weird because he would always invite
us to this town house that he had. At
the time, I didn’t think it was weird,
because he was my coach, a younger
coach. He was a father figure to a lot
of the guys who maybe didn’t have a
dad in their lives. It was a place for us
to hang out and kind of get away from
our parents and their rules and stuff.
“It’s not like we did anything crazy
there or anything. It was just a spot to
hang out.”
Keller’s family is close knit and
would join him at many of his AAU
tournaments. That’s who he would
stay with on the road.
But he knew players shared rooms
with Stephen and slept in the same bed
with him.
“Greg never touched me or any-
thing like that,” Keller said. “I know
he has some footage of me, doing
something, somewhere. What did he
have, like over 400? I just assume I was
one of those. I think maybe my group
was just a trial run for him. I think we
were his first team.”
Stephen eventually became an assis-
tant coach at Upper Iowa University,
Keller left the Barnstormers, played
one year for Martin Brothers AAU out
of Waterloo, then decided his springs
and summers would be spent concen-
trating on baseball. A right-handed
pitcher with a low-90s fastball, he com-
mitted to the University of Nebraska
and became a legit professional pros-
Keller said he knows the camera
story is true and feels “violated.” He
had stayed at Wood’s home several
times, as had his fiancee and family.
“That was heartbreaking,” he said.
“I was kind of numb to the Greg thing,
in a way, because it wasn’t me, person-
ally. It was a bigger scale of people,
and I think I was kind of one of the
test-run people, or whatever you want
to call it. Jason was, obviously, way
more personal and on a smaller scale.
“He was a good friend of mine, had
been my agent/adviser since high
school, my junior or sophomore year.
Someone I had known and loved and
who was a friend to me. That was
pretty devastating. So many emotions.
I went from crying to absolute hatred
to crying and hatred again.”
Keller said he actually had talked
with Stephen about the Wood incident.
Knowing he was going to retire from
baseball, he contemplated trying to
play college basketball and asked Ste-
phen if he knew anyone at Coe College
who could hook him up.
“Maybe he could talk to the coach-
es,” Keller said. “I told him about
Jason and remember telling him
‘Yeah, some people are messed up.’ He
paused, then chuckled and said ‘Yeah,
some people are really messed up.’
That’s what he said back to me. Little
did I know he was doing exactly the
same stuff.
“So when I found that out about
him (in late February) ... I was simply
blown away.”
It has been almost a year now, and
this all has become easier for Jon
Keller to accept. At least somewhat.
Time heals all wounds.
But as he said, this has become a
part of him now. It will always linger.
“I was in a hotel in San Diego (re-
cently), and right above the bed, there
was an outlet of some sort that was
pulled out of the wall,” he said. “There
were just a bunch of wires there. I put
a towel in there and covered it. I will
do that kind of stuff now.
Liz Martin/The Gazette
“The fact that those guys did this,
Jon Keller of Cedar Rapids, pitching for the Cedar Rapids Xavier Saints against Burlington in a 2010 yeah, it’s weird. But it doesn’t bother
substate game, played professional baseball for five years. Keller is currently back in school after me, it really doesn’t scar me. It hurt,
retiring after the 2017 season.
hurt me a lot. Obviously, they are sick
... (But) after the second incident, I
pect his senior year at Xavier. izzi. almost laughed. Not because it was
The Seattle Mariners drafted him in Wood was fired by his agency, Ca- funny. It was like ‘How does this hap-
the 11th round in 2010, but he decided reer Sports Entertainment, this past pen to me twice over such a short pe-
not to sign and went to Nebraska. Un- January for failing to uphold its “mor- riod of time?’
happy there, he transferred to Division al and ethical standards.” National “I just feel so bad for all the kids
II Tampa (Fla.) and was drafted by the reports surfaced that one of Wood’s cli- who had no idea. It makes you wonder
Baltimore Orioles in the 22nd round in ents had discovered a covertly placed how anyone could ever do something
2013. camera in a guest bathroom of his like this.”
He signed and began what would be home and confronted him about it.
a five-year professional career. Keller The Major League Baseball Players Editor’s note: Jon Keller of Cedar
retired after the 2017 season. Association suspended Wood pend- Rapids, a former professional baseball
His baseball adviser, then agent was ing an investigation, and he has since player, is taking classes at Kirkwood
a man named Jason Wood. Based in relinquished his agent license. At the Community College and works part-
St. Louis, Wood represented roughly time of his dismissal, Wood vehement- time in The Gazette’s sports department.
50 pro players, including Boston Red ly denied the shower camera charge
Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi and and no police charges ever have been l Comments: (319) 398-8259;
Minnesota Twins pitcher Jake Odor- filed. jeff.johnson@thegazette.com

NFL NOTEBOOK

Titans keep playoff hopes alive with win

Field Level Media
Backup quarterback Blaine
Gabbert threw a 2-yard touch-
down pass to MyCole Pruitt
with 4:30 remaining, and the
Tennessee Titans defeated the
visiting Washington Redskins,
25-16, on Saturday to keep
their playoff hopes alive.
The Titans drove 75 yards
in seven plays, with Derrick
Henry rushing 18 yards to the
2-yard line.
Washington (7-8) then drove
to the Tennessee 44, but Josh
Johnson’s third-down pass
was intercepted by Kevin
Byard. Washington got it back,
and Johnson’s heave was
picked off by Malcolm Butler
and returned 55 yards for a
touchdown.
Henry rushed for 84 yards
and a touchdown on 21 carries
for the Titans (9-6).
Titans quarterback Marcus
Mariota (10 of 13 for 110 yards)
left the game with a stinger af-
ter being sacked by Jonathan
Allen late in the first half.
Gabbert was 7 of 11 for 101
yards and the touchdown.
Johnson finished 13 of 23 for
153 yards, one touchdown and
two picks.
Adrian Peterson had 26
carries for 119 yards. He went
over 1,000 yards for the season
and passed Eric Dickerson
(13,259) for eighth place on the
NFL’s all-time rushing list
NFL WEEK 16
SATURDAY
Titans 25, Redskins 16
Ravens 22, Chargers 10
TODAY
N.Y. Giants at Indianapolis,
noon
Houston at Philadelphia, noon
(KGAN)
Green Bay at N.Y. Jets, noon
Buffalo at New England, noon
Minnesota at Detroit, noon
Tampa Bay at Dallas, noon
Jacksonville at Miami, noon
Atlanta at Carolina, noon
Cincinnati at Cleveland, noon
Chicago at San Francisco,
3:05 p.m. (KFXA)
L.A. Rams at Arizona, 3:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh at New Orleans, 3:25Francisco 49ers.
p.m. (KGAN)
Kansas City at Seattle,
7:20 p.m. (KWWL)
MONDAY
Denver at Oakland,
7:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, keeping the Los
Angeles Chargers’ offense in
check in a 22-10 road victory
that improved their playoff
chances.
The Ravens (9-6) held the
Chargers to 73 yards of total
offense in the first half and 198 ing for a higher seed in the
for the game while winning for playoffs.
the fifth time in their past six
games.
tight end Antonio Gates, and
cornerback Tavon Young re-
turned it 62 yards for a touch-
down and a 22-10 lead.
The Ravens’ turnaround
from a 4-5 start to the season
has coincided with a move to
a run-oriented offense behind
mobile rookie quarterback
Lamar Jackson, but it was a
68-yard touchdown pass in
the third quarter to Mark An-
drews that gave Baltimore the
lead for good.
2 BEARS TO MISS GAME
The Chicago Bears will be
without Pro Bowl safety Eddie
Jackson and linebacker Aaron
Lynch today against the San
Tennessee running back Derrick Henry (22) tries to fight off a tackle from Wash-
The Bears ruled out both ington defensive back Deshazor Everett (22) on Saturday at Nissan Stadium in
due to injuries they suffered Nashville, Tenn. The Titans won, 25-16.
during last week’s victory
against the Green Bay Pack-
ers. Neither player practiced
all week nor made the trip to
San Francisco.
Jackson, tied for the league
lead among safeties with six
interceptions, sprained his
right ankle after picking off
an Aaron Rodgers pass late in
the game. Lynch sprained his
right elbow.
The Bears clinched the NFC
North last week and are play-
SAINTS ACTIVATE GINN
© 2018 The Gazette

With the Chargers driving The New Orleans Saints ac-

with 13,218 yards.
RAVENS 22, CHARGERS 10
The Baltimore Ravens’
defense lived up to the hype
for a potential go-ahead score tivated wide receiver Ted Ginn
with less than three minutes Jr. from injured reserve on USA Today Sports photos
remaining, Ravens linebacker Saturday after the 33-year-old Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon (28) is defended by Bal-
Patrick Onwuasor forced missed the past 10 games with timore Ravens cornerback Brandon Carr (24) last night at StubHub Center in
a fumble from Los Angeles a knee injury. Carson, Calif. The Ravens won, 22-10.