Sexual violence in US sports: And yet it happened again

T he verdict against Sean Gardener late last week gave his victims at least some measure of satisfaction. “We are glad that he is finally being held accountable,” said attorney Elizabeth Pudenz, who represented the victims of the 39-year-old sex offender. Judge Kristi Johnson in Iowa City imposed 90 years in prison. The gymnastics coach will probably never be able to enjoy his freedom again in this life. And yet the victims and their representatives are far from ready to let the matter rest. “There will be more lawsuits,” assured Pudenz.

The Gardener case raised many questions that remain unanswered. First and foremost, why the US Gymnastics Federation and the US Center for Safe Sports, which aims to prevent abuse in sports, didn't take action much sooner. After all, the verdict against Larry Nassar, who abused generations of gymnasts for decades, was only ten years ago. The Center for Safe Sport was founded after the Nassar case to prevent such crimes from occurring again in the future. And yet it happened again.

Gardener was convicted of child pornography, the crime is said to have taken place between 2017 and 2018. Gardener was coaching at Mississippi at the time. FBI agents found videos on his computer that he had secretly filmed in the gymnasts' locker room and bathrooms. The victims were between the ages of 6 and 14. The gymnasts and their families had already filed complaints about Gardener's behavior with the gymnastics association and the Center for Safe Sports back in 2017. Among other things, Gardener touched her during and before training and forced her to kiss him.

But for some inexplicable reason it took five years for the sporting authorities to react. And then only half-heartedly. Gardener was “temporarily” suspended from practicing his profession. His name was added to the Center for Safe Sport database, but was not otherwise published. Up until that point, he had worked at former Olympian Liang “Chow” Qiao’s gymnastics studio in Iowa. Now two athletes who trained under him during this time and were also harassed by him are suing the gymnastics association and the center.

The final professional ban against Gardener was only issued by the Center for Safe Sport in the fall of 2025 after the FBI opened an investigation against him. It has now emerged that Gardener was prepared to make a full confession to the Center at the beginning of 2025. The center didn't seem interested.

The Center's failures expose a deeply ailing operating culture at the congressionally funded agency. The AP news agency obtained documentation from an internal investigation that spoke of a climate of cover-up and intimidation. An employee reported that she always feared reprisals whenever she reported grievances. The investigation also revealed that promotions were based on personal favors and that there was therefore a high degree of incompetence in the management of the authority.

Trust in the regulatory authority that was established after the Nassar case has been deeply damaged by the Gardener case. The supervision of competitive sport is more urgent than ever before. In 2025, the center received 9,700 complaints. In view of the new findings, it is extremely questionable how many of these were really seriously investigated. The athletes and their families feel let down once again.