The gymnastics community is still in shock after the recent arrest of former USA national team coach Michael Gardner on charges of child sexual exploitation. Gardner directed Chow’s Winter Classic, a top-notch early-season meet that attracts hundreds of gymnasts to Iowa every winter. Today, he has become the focus of a deeply disturbing case that should set off alarm bells about enforcement of child air safety rules in the sport.
In July 2022, Gardner was dismissed from coaching. This action came after the U.S. Center for SafeSport received a report of sexual abuse and placed a temporary sanction against him. This move came against a backdrop of long-standing concerns about his conduct, which many called “grooming.” Though they urged her to reconsider, Gardner nevertheless made the leap, moving to the safe harbor of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute. Here, he persisted in helping young athletes while living in West Des Moines, Iowa.
On August 14, 2023, federal authorities arrested Gardner for placing an illicit camera in the bathroom of his Mississippi smattering of gym. This camera allegedly caught five-hundred young girls, some as young as six, changing clothes in front of it. The seriousness of the allegations, first reported by IndyStar, has triggered a federal civil rights investigation. Gardner’s new criminal exposure includes over a week in jail and two years of probation.
Digging deeper shows a disturbing history of Gardner’s pattern of behavior over the years. Parents told us that he did this by making young girls uncomfortable through touching inappropriately while spotting girls and talking about inappropriate topics. He attempted to downplay what he did. When challenged on his private physical contact with one of these girls he said, “My hand slipped by mistake.”
Things reached a boiling point once Gardner’s predatory behavior made it clear that he was a danger to students. He intentionally established trust with children in order to abuse them later. Along with other inappropriate behavior, his sexual misconduct and predatory nature pushed students out of his gym beginning in 2019. Parents grew more bothered by their kids’ welfare, precipitating a stampede of families.
Yet, despite these glaring dangers, Gardner’s coaching career continued to prosper. Owner of Chow’s Gymnastics, Qiao Chen, continued to book him even after allegations were raised by multiple parents and coworkers. In a heartbreaking turn, Gardner was given a private censure for not reporting Gardner’s own sexual misconduct allegations.
A spokesperson for SafeSport said, “It’s hard to understand how a number of institutions have not acted with urgency on Gardner’s case, when even minimal action clearly jeopardizes child safety. Parents and advocates could not be more frustrated. They say local police, SafeSport, USA Gymnastics and the now-closed gym did not do enough to keep young athletes from being abused.
Chow’s Gymnastics followed through to redress the failure after allegations surfaced. They wrote, “At that time, there had not been a single substantiated finding of abuse. Still, Chow’s Gymnastics made the decision to take the safety of its athletes above all else.” This chilling statement underscores the precarious tightrope that the governing organizations have to walk between protecting coaches and protecting young gymnasts.
Megan Bonanni, an advocate for child safety in sports, emphasized the long-term impact of such abuse, stating, “The damage caused by this kind of abuse is permanent, and it’s really long-lasting. It changes the trajectory of a young person’s life.” Her comments are a chilling reminder of the cold hard reality that victims and their families continue to suffer.
Gardner’s rise within the sport occurred even as gymnastics organizations were implementing new safeguards following the exposure of Larry Nassar’s decades-long sexual abuse of gymnasts. Many in the gymnastics community find themselves asking how Gardner could have evaded scrutiny for so long.