Olympics watchdog failed to close abuse case against gymnastics coach: report

Young gymnasts and their parents began raising red flags about the coach in 2017, the same year a watchdog agency was created after the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal that nearly wiped out USA Gymnastics and damaged the country’s entire Olympic movement.

But it took until 2022 for Sean Gardner to face any sanctions from the US Center for SafeSport, an independent agency created by Congress to investigate misconduct in Olympic sports. And it wasn’t until an Associated Press investigation this year that details about the coach came to light, whose arrest on child pornography charges in August marked the turning point in the one-man case dubbed “Nassar 2.0.”

Now, a new AP investigation has found that months before Gardner was arrested for allegedly installing cameras in a girls’ bathroom in Purvis, Miss., he was willing to accept a lifetime ban from gymnastics training as part of a plea deal in which he would plead guilty to harassment, according to three people involved with SafeSport and its handling of the case.

Internal political strife including allegations of retaliation against employees within SafeSport has prevented it from imposing heavy sanctions, the people, who did not want to be named because they fear retaliation by SafeSport, told the AP.

With more victims being accused, new witnesses coming forward and Gardner’s history at three gyms in different states, the case has become the most difficult in the eight-year-old agency’s investigation.

“It was like, ‘Well, this is ‘Nassar 2.0,’ so let’s find out what we can and get it over with,” said one person.

That person said that we never had a clear reason why the institution did not lift the ban permanently.

Meanwhile, Gardner has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges and remains in custody pending a trial, scheduled for March 2.

The difference between a temporary, lifetime ban

SafeSport’s inability to make the ban permanent is seen by critics as a critical failure that undermines one of its key objectives – securing permanent sanctions for the most dangerous abusers.

When asked why SafeSport did not follow up, agency spokesperson Hilary Nemchik in a statement could not comment on those details.

But, he said, SafeSport “took swift action to protect athletes from harm when they received the first allegations of sexual misconduct. The limits imposed during a temporary suspension and a permanent ban are the same.”

Regarding SafeSport’s handling of cases in general, the statement said, “even if the defendant agrees to a significant sanction, staff at the facility are still required to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial.”

While not speaking specifically about Gardner’s case, Nemchik added that the agency is careful not to close cases “inaccurately or make findings that the defendant was not properly cared for, because that could jeopardize the case and require the case to be reopened.”

Gardner’s July 2022 suspension was entered into SafeSport’s disciplinary database, a searchable list of those banned by the agency, which updates the list but does not announce new or significant sanctions. The website requires users to know the name of the person they want to check.

The permanent ban Gardner indicated he was ready to sign in early 2025 would have changed his status in the database and closed the investigation, people familiar with the case told the AP.

It would have limited his ability to do more damage in many ways, experts familiar with SafeSport told the AP. This includes:

• Eliminating the possibility of the case going to settlement and any need for renegotiations and potentially disrupting the athletes.
• Removing the risk of any ban on Gardner being removed if he is acquitted of his criminal charges.

Importantly, it would send a clear message to parents, athletes and potential employers, said attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel, who represented the gymnasts in Nassar’s case.

“It speaks to something that is a final decision,” he said. “That means something, it’s not like it’s something that’s being judged, maybe this guy is falsely accused.”

Gardner’s admission of illegal activity at the SafeSport Center in early 2025 may have provided law enforcement with more information in the case that did not lead to his arrest until August, said attorney Steve Silvey, who has long criticized the center.

“Are there any abusive people in the months that SafeSport is sitting on that information?” Silvey said. “And where did that fit into what the FBI knew” before they arrested him?

Despite being temporarily suspended from gym training for two years, Gardner was able to get a job in May 2024 at MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center as a surgical technician, responsible for placing patients on the operating room table and assisting with procedures and post-operative care. A hospital spokesperson did not respond to a voicemail and an email from the AP seeking comment.

Gardner’s attorney, Omodare Jupiter, also did not respond to an email and phone message from the AP asking questions about SafeSport handling his client’s case.

Office politics and employees fear retaliation

People familiar with the Gardner case told the AP they were caught up in a web of internal SafeSport politics that led to HR complaints, allegations of retaliation and other concerns — and ultimately no lifelong ban.

They described a dysfunctional practice where employees are afraid to talk to their managers about the problems they have encountered, including frustration with the agency’s failure to close the Gardner case.

They said that SafeSport conducted a survey of employees at the beginning of the year which produced worrying results. A slideshow presentation to staff, shared with the AP, cited: “Severe concerns about retaliation, perceived favoritism and unfair promotions” among the agency’s investigative and law enforcement departments.

“If I say something, I can be punished without being told the reason,” reads a quote from the employee.

Nemchik did not respond to a question from the AP about what SafeSport was doing in response to the survey, which came shortly after CEO Ju’Riese Colon was fired in April but acknowledged “temporary cultural challenges” that came after Colon’s departure.

Nemchik said in a statement that the agency expects the new CEO to focus on “the efficiency of the organization as the agency evolves under new leadership to better fulfill our mission.”

Some allegations went under the radar for years

Since his arrest, Gardner’s sanction on SafeSport’s disciplinary website has been increased from “suspension” to “ineligible” due to “criminal activity involving a minor” and “sexual misconduct.”

A conviction could change Gardner’s sanction to a permanent ineligibility to coach gymnastics. That’s the condition Gardner had agreed to as early as 2025, according to court filing notes from April, one person told the AP.

“People know what Larry Nassar did and how it happened, and you’re going to let it happen again?” said John Manly, the defense attorney in the Nassar and Gardner cases, when asked to compare the two. “The mission of this center is to protect child athletes from predators. And they are failing.”

Meanwhile, SafeSport, USA Gymnastics and coaches at the Iowa gym where Gardner worked are named as defendants in civil lawsuits filed by two gymnasts who say they did not do enough to protect them.

The lawsuits state that in December 2017, USA Gymnastics and SafeSport were notified by the parents of one of the girls about Gardner’s inappropriate behavior while training at Jump’In Gymnastics in Purvis, Miss.

Among the alleged charges:

• “Gardner requires young gymnasts to hug after practice, including long, forward-facing, two-armed hugs.”
• “Gardner ordered and threatened the junior high school coach by bringing her into his office for a 25-minute closed session without parental consent, swearing at her, then hugging and kissing her without permission.”

Both SafeSport and USA Gymnastics declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The criminal complaint that led to Gardner’s arrest says the FBI found video files on his computer that Gardner made with a hidden camera in a girls’ bathroom while young gymnasts were undressing to go to the bathroom at a Mississippi gym. Videos date from at least December 2017 to mid-2018.

The SafeSport Center said that USA Gymnastics informed in January 2018 that one of the gyms it cooperates with has resolved the report regarding Gardner. But the center said it is not investigating further because the report is not related to sexual misconduct and did not find full details.

Meanwhile, Gardner was able to land a job at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 2018, a gym run by legendary coach Liang “Chow” Qiao that has produced Olympians, including gold medalist Shawn Johnson.

It wasn’t until 2022, when new allegations of abuse were reported to SafeSport, that the Iowa gym suspended Gardner and the facility suspended him. Jim and Qiao, both named in the lawsuits, did not return phone and email messages left by the AP.

It took another three years and an AP investigation to reveal the depth of the allegations against Gardner, and the shortcomings of the watchdog organization created to protect athletes after the Nassar case.

Simpson Tuegel said it’s no surprise that this case is being compared to Nassar’s.

“You look at the timeline and how many people know and fail to protect the children and allow this person to continue contact,” she said.

“And there’s a point you see, in some of these cases, where it could have been stopped and it didn’t happen.”