In the latest episode to heap embarrassment on the sport of gymnastics, an assistant coach has left the University of Michigan program after he was discovered having sex in public with an 18-year-old member of the women's team.
Scott Vetere, 39, a former 10-time All-American gymnast at Michigan, was arrested Oct. 8 after police discovered him performing a sex act on the student-athlete in a car outside an Ann Arbor apartment complex. Vetere was charged with "committing an indecent or obscene act in public" and arraigned last Friday. The female gymnast was also arrested on the same charges. According to the Detroit Free Press, indecent or obscene conduct in public is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine under Ann Arbor city code.
"Mr. Vetere was immediately suspended the day we learned about the incident (Oct. 10)," Michigan's associate athletic director for external communication and public relations Kurt Svoboda told the Free Press in an email. "He resigned from his position Oct. 15 during the disciplinary review process."
"We are confident this was an isolated incident and that with his departure, it will not be repeated," Svoboda said, as reported by M Live. "We do very thorough background searches for every employee here."
Athletic department policy bans coaches from having romantic relationships with athletes. Vetere's bio page has been removed from the university's athletics website.
A member of the Wolverines' 1999 national championship team, Vetere coached on the Michigan men's team from 2005 to 2009 before joining the women's program as an assistant.
