DENVER (AP) — Young gymnasts and their parents started raising red flags about a coach as far back as 2017 — the same year a watchdog agency was created in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual-abuse scandal that nearly eviscerated USA Gymnastics and damaged the country’s entire Olympic movement.
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.
“It was like, ‘Well, this is ‘Nassar 2.0,’ so let’s figure out what we can figure out and wrap it up,” one person said.
That person said there was never a clear reason given for why the center did not finalize the permanent ban.
Meanwhile, Gardner has pleaded not guilty to federal child pornography charges and remains jailed pending trial, set for March 2.
Experts point out key differences
SafeSport’s inability to lock down a permanent ban is seen by critics as a fundamental failure that undermines one of its key missions — securing permanent sanctions against the most dangerous abusers.
Asked why SafeSport didn’t follow through, center spokesperson Hilary Nemchik said in a statement that she could not comment about those details.
But, she said, SafeSport “took swift action to protect athletes from harm upon receiving the first allegations of sexual misconduct. The restrictions in place during a temporary suspension and a permanent ban are the same.”
Regarding SafeSport’s handling of cases in general, the statement said, “even if a respondent agrees to a significant sanction, center staff are still required to ensure the respondent receives a fair process.”
While not specifically addressing the Gardner case, Nemchik added that the center is careful not to close cases “with inaccuracies or make findings that a respondent was not properly noticed on, because it could jeopardize the case and require the matter to be reopened.”
Gardner’s temporary suspension in July 2022 was put on SafeSport’s disciplinary database — a searchable list of those banned by the center, which updates the list but does not announce new or notable sanctions. The database requires users to know the name of a person they want to check on.
The permanent ban Gardner indicated he was ready to sign in early 2025 would have changed his status on the database and closed the investigation, the people familiar with the case told the AP.
