"But it took until 2022 for Sean Gardner to face any sanction from the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the independent agency created by Congress to investigate misconduct in Olympic sports. And it wasn't until an Associated Press investigation this year that details emerged about the coach, whose arrest on child pornography charges in August was a turning point in a case one person involved called "Nassar 2.0.""
"Now, a new AP investigation has found that months before Gardner's arrest on allegations of installing cameras in a girls' gym bathroom in Purvis, Mississippi, he was willing to accept a lifetime ban from coaching gymnastics as part of a deal where he would admit to the abuse, according to three people involved with SafeSport and its handling of the case."
"A tangle of internal politics that included allegations of retaliation against employees inside SafeSport kept it from levying its harshest sanction, the people -- who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by SafeSport -- told the AP. With multiple alleged victims, new witnesses coming forward and Gardner's history at three gyms in different states, the case became one of the most troubling of the 8-year-old agency's investigations."
Young gymnasts and their parents raised concerns about coach Sean Gardner beginning in 2017. The U.S. Center for SafeSport did not levy sanctions until 2022. Months before Gardner's August arrest on allegations of installing cameras in a girls' gym bathroom, he indicated willingness to accept a lifetime coaching ban in exchange for admitting abuse. Internal politics and allegations of retaliation within SafeSport impeded issuance of a permanent ban. Multiple alleged victims and witnesses span Gardner's work at three gyms in different states. Gardner pleaded not guilty to federal child pornography charges and remains jailed pending a March 2 trial.
Read at ESPN.com
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