"The former boss says she brought her concerns about Gardner's grooming behavior to USA Gymnastics, the sport's national governing body. The parents and girls described telling coaches of inappropriate behavior at Gardner's new job, an academy that produced Olympians and is owned by renowned coach Liang Chow Qiao. Yet Qiao not only kept Gardner on the job he promoted him."
"One girl told Qiao during a meeting in 2020 that she had been touched inappropriately by Gardner during training but Qiao said any such contact was inadvertent and intended to save athletes from injury, a parent told AP. She felt totally invalidated, the parent said of the response from Qiao, who built his reputation coaching Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas and China's women's national team."
"The watchdog responsible for investigating wrongdoing in Olympic sports confirmed to AP that Qiao and several other coaches were privately sanctioned for failing to report sexual misconduct allegations against Gardner after learning about them. Qiao did not return AP emails and phone messages seeking comment. Gardner, 38, has been jailed since his Aug. 14 arrest pending federal court proceedings in Mississippi. He hasn't entered a plea, and court records don't indicate if he has a lawyer."
Warnings about coach Sean Gardner emerged from his former boss, gymnasts, and parents, who reported grooming behavior to USA Gymnastics and to coaches at his subsequent academy. The academy, owned by Liang Chow Qiao, continued to employ and later promoted Gardner despite complaints dating to 2018. In 2020 a gymnast told Qiao she had been touched inappropriately during training; Qiao characterized the contact as inadvertent and intended to prevent injury. A watchdog that investigates Olympic sports confirmed Qiao and other coaches were privately sanctioned for failing to report allegations. Gardner was arrested Aug. 14 and is jailed pending federal court proceedings.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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