HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A local gymnastics coach was accused of emotionally and physically abusing athletes, according to an investigation by The New York Times.
To be clear, there were no allegations of sexual abuse against Qi Han. He would not talk to NBC Charlotte, but other parents are speaking out on his behalf.
NBC Charlotte was there in 2016 when Ashton Locklear was training at Everest Gymnastics in Huntersville with Han. She was an alternate on the Olympic team.
Locklear was the subject of The New York Times report that alleged Han was physically and mentally abusive to her and other young gymnasts -- including dividing girls into a so-called "fat group" and forcing them to do extra exercises.
"He would punish them, and I’ve seen him push girls off bar and say, 'Get out of here; I don’t want to work with you.' I've seen girls cry, have to do a handstand for 20 minutes."
Michale Cerio’s daughter, Sam, trained with Han for years. He said he saw Han being abusive multiple times, and his daughter told him about one particularly bad incident.
"She was walking back by him, and she wasn’t doing what he wanted, and as she walked by, he hit her in the back of the head and told her to get out of the gym, and she started crying," Cerio said. "And then she told him, 'No, I want to continue to practice," and he shoved her until she went out the door."
NBC Charlotte spoke with another gymnast who said she was there at the time and confirmed the details of that incident.
An Asheville-based coach told us she reported another alleged incident to USA Gymnastics after she claimed she saw Han kick Kaylen Morgan at a gymnastics competition after she hurt herself during her floor routine.
"He's telling her, 'Get up, your embarrassing me,' and she wasn’t moving as fast as he would have liked; he took his foot and was kicking her.”
However, NBC Charlotte talked to Morgan, who's now 14, and her mother. Both said it didn’t happen that way.
"Did you feel like you could go on?"
"No."
"What did coach say?"
"He said, 'It's okay; we're gonna do great things next year.'"
"Did he touch you physically?"
"No."
"He never kicked you?"
"No."
Han would not talk to NBC Charlotte but he hired a public relations team and a legal team who helped gather a group of parents at the gym to speak out on his behalf.
"That’s not how we know Everest, not how we know coach Han."
Everest Gymnastics also issued this written statement: “We do not tolerate abuse of any kind in our facility. We deny these alleged claims and we are prepared to defend ourselves against any allegations in the appropriate forum, including in a court of law and through USA Gymnastics.”
"He’s very encouraging; he can be stern but it's for the right reason. He wants us to be safe," said Morgan.
"Coach Han is a tough coach, but that’s the reason we came here; we know elite needs to set apart," Morgan's mother said.
USA Gymnastics confirmed a non-sexual complaint about coach Han was submitted last year to SafeSport, the outside agency that investigates abuse allegations. SafeSport told NBC Charlotte they don’t comment on ongoing investigations.