IOWA CITY, Iowa — Long before his banishment from gymnastics and arrest after accusations , warning signs about were coming from several directions — his former boss, his gymnasts and their parents.
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 at Gardner’s new job, an academy that produced Olympians and is owned by renowned coach Liang “Chow” Qiao.
Yet Qiao not only on the job — he promoted him.
Associated Press interviews with four parents whose daughters trained under Gardner and a letter obtained by the AP from Gardner's former employer to clients at her gym revealed that concerns about the coach were reported to gymnastics authorities as