USA Gymnastics protected abusive coaches at expense of gymnasts’ safety

The Rio Olympic Games are upon us, and with them comes the nation’s every-four-years fascination with the sport of gymnastics. But a new report by the Indianapolis Star raises disturbing questions about the procedures of USA Gymnastics, the sport’s organizing body in the United States, to protect the safety of young gymnasts.

The multi-part report, “Out of Balance,” first published on Thursday, contends that USA Gymnastics preserved the reputations of its coaches by failing to pursue allegations of sexual abuse and by allowing coaches who had received complaints to change gyms and retain certification. According to court testimony, USA Gymnastics followed an official policy of dismissing abuse complaints against coaches as “hearsay” unless they came directly from the abused individual or their family.

That policy allowed coaches who had received abuse complaints to remain in the coaching ranks, and in at least four instances, to commit other acts of abuse even years after the initial complaints were lodged.

USA Gymnastics oversees more than 121,000 athletes and more than 3,000 gyms. The combination of breadth and ambition, critics contend, has led the authority to be less than diligent about pursuing claims of abuse. The organization did not release the number of abuse complaints it has received, but the Star reported that USAG keeps files on 54 coaches who have received
complaints.

“USAG failed at this,” said Lisa Ganser, whose daughter filed an abuse lawsuit in Georgia. “USA Gymnastics had enough information, I think, to have done something about this. It didn’t have to happen to my daughter, and it didn’t have to happen to other little girls.”

The report details how four different coaches were able to use the USAG’s policy of compiling information without alerting authorities to retain coaching jobs for years. One coach received complaints as early as 1998, with one gym owner saying he “should be locked in a cage before someone is raped,” but he would go on to coach another eight years before being arrested, tried, and imprisoned.

Officials with USAG declined to be interviewed, releasing only a written statement. “USA Gymnastics has a long and proactive history of developing policy to protect its athletes and will remain diligent in evaluating new and best practices which should be implemented,” USAG president Steve Penny said. “We recognize our leadership role is important and remain committed to working with the entire gymnastics community and other important partners to promote a safe and fun environment for children.”

But others interviewed by the Star painted a far different picture, saying that USAG did not do enough to investigate claims of abuse, receiving the complaints but not following up on them to a satisfactory degree. All 50 states require investigation and prompt notification of authorities if child abuse is even suspected.

The series, editors note, began when the Star investigated schools and day care centers for failing to properly and promptly report suspected child abuse. In the course of this particular story, Star reporters interviewed dozens of people, traveled to multiple states, filed public records requests across the country, and even filed a motion to intervene in the Georgia court case in a bid to gain access to sexual misconduct complaint files USA Gymnastics keeps on 54 coaches.

The full report is online at the Indianapolis Star, and is highly recommended reading.