A Huntersville Gymnastics Coach Faces Accusations Of Physical And Mental Abuse

MECKLENBURG CO. — A Huntersville gymnastics coach faces accusations of physical and mental abuse, the allegations making national headlines.

Young girls being hit and having things thrown at them. Some of what Mike Cerio says his daughter was subjected to when she was a gymnast at Everest Gymnastics.

“She was walking back past him from doing whatever she had done, and he was yelling at her and I didn’t like what she did and he took and he smacked her hard in the back of the head,” says Cerio.

Curio telling WCCB he saw Coach Qi Han departing gymnasts in “fat groups”. He says they didn’t leave the gym right away because his daughter wanted to get a gymnastics scholarship, and no other gyms in the area trained at her level.

“To stay, she thought if you worked harder he wouldn’t get mad at her anymore and we just decided that sounded terrible so we moved her that summer.”

One gymnast came forward talking about the physical and mental abuse to The New York Times. Four other gymnasts saying similar abuse happened to them.

Tracey Finley-Morgan’s daughter has been a student of Han’s for three years. She says Everest Gymnastics is not an abusive environment.

“Han has always been supportive, he can have great expectations for his girls, but no way shape or form is this mentally or physically abusive,” says Finley-Morgan.

Other parents, also supporting Han.

You have to be disciplined, you have to be stern, you have to be on your toes, you have to be focused. Coach Han really teaches the children to be that way,” says parent Amy Schaefer.

Everest Gymnastics sent a statement to WCCB saying in part:
“We do not tolerate any kind of abuse of any kind in our facility. We denied these alleged claims and we are prepared to defend ourselves against any allegations in the appropriate forum.”