IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — In a pivotal step towards accountability, two gymnasts who claim to have suffered sexual abuse at an elite gymnastics academy in Iowa filed lawsuits this week against USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport. The lawsuits accuse these organizations of neglecting their duty to protect young athletes by failing to act on numerous complaints regarding coach Sean Gardner's inappropriate behavior.
The plaintiffs assert that USA Gymnastics and the SafeSport center were informed of Gardner's “grooming behaviors” back in December 2017, which included hugging and kissing female gymnasts and other troubling conduct while coaching at a Mississippi facility. Despite these warnings, the organizations allegedly did not terminate Gardner’s coaching credentials or report him to law enforcement, allowing him to continue working with young athletes.
The lawsuits further reveal that Gardner found employment at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in Iowa, where he allegedly continued to abuse minors even after additional complaints surfaced regarding his behavior. Chow’s Gymnastics is run by prominent coach Liang “Chow” Qiao, who has also been named as a defendant in the lawsuits.
This legal action comes in the wake of an abuse scandal catalyzed by investigative reports from The Associated Press, leading up to Gardner's arrest in August on charges of federal child pornography for using hidden cameras in a Mississippi gym to exploit young girls.
The two plaintiffs, now college students, trained under Gardner beginning in 2018 when they were just 11 and 12 years old, aspiring to compete at the Olympic level. They describe their experiences as riddled with “physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, harassment, and molestation” until they eventually left the gym. They are joined in their claims by reported survivors from within the gymnastics community, indicating that more lawsuits could follow.
Among the plaintiffs is Iowa State gymnast Finley Weldon, who previously reported Gardner’s actions to the police and has bravely gone public about her experiences. The second plaintiff, 19-year-old Hailey Gear from the University of Iowa, has also joined the suit, seeking damages for the harm caused by the abuse.
The lawsuits highlight a systemic issue within USA Gymnastics and SafeSport, claiming negligence in the handling of complaints filed by parents about Gardner’s abusive conduct and his so-called grooming tactics. They assert that all defendants failed to address concerns adequately, thereby enabling Gardner to continue coaching. Both organizations have yet to respond substantively to the allegations as the legal proceedings unfold.
This case underscores the urgent need for changes in protocols regarding athlete protection and accountability in sports organizations, especially in the wake of systemic issues stemming from prior abuse scandals in gymnastics.
