A Case for Women LLC, a women-owned organization dedicated to educating women and families about how to access contingency fee civil legal services, is sounding the alarm on former gymnastics coach Sean Gardner, or Mississippi.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Gardner was arrested by the FBI in August 2025 on a federal child pornography charge. However, the AP also reports that Gardner had been suspended from coaching gymnastics at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, an elite gymnastics academy in Iowa, in 2022. Per documents uncovered by the AP, Gardner was accused of sexually abusing young gymnasts at Chow’s and secretly recording other gymnasts undressing at a prior coaching job in Mississippi.
The reports of abuse don’t end there. The FBI said earlier this week they believe Gardner “primarily targeted children” at gyms in Iowa, Mississippi, and even Louisiana.
Here’s the FBI’s directive: https://forms.fbi.gov/seeking-victim-information-in-sean-michael-gardner-investigation
There is evidence of reported abuse by Gardner to SafeSport in 2022, which informed the local police department about the allegations. The police department stated they closed the investigation in 2022 because the initial accuser decided she didn’t want to press charges.
Silence surrounded the situation until 2024, when survivor Finley Weldon decided to come forward. This started a chain reaction that resulted in the FBI’s arrest of Gardner.
Speaking with the AP, she stated that she wanted “… my name out there because I was the one who did come forward … I felt like I needed to speak out to stop it from happening to other little girls, so they didn’t have to go through what I went through.”
There is also evidence that there are other survivors of sexual abuse by Gardner.
“I am so proud of this brave woman for speaking up,” said Kim Bergman, survivor, advocate, and co-director of the Protecting Kansas Children from Sexual Predators. “As a survivor myself, I know how scary it can be to come forward. In the end, knowing that sharing my story helped others from being abused made it all worth it. It’s never too late to help others seek justice. A Case for Women was there for me and helped me find my voice and I’m sure they will be there for you.”
A Case for Women has a history of helping gymnasts (current and former) take their power back through civil legal action after sexual abuse by coaches, doctors, and others associated with the sport. We even worked with women who had been abused by Larry Nassar, who took against Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics (USAG), and others, for failing to protect them and others.
“The question is why this creep was able to keep abusing for so long,” said Susan Knape, founder of A Case for Women. “Not only did he work at a gym in Louisiana for 10 years, but he was able to obtain a position at an elite level gym, where he worked for 4 years. You would think the gymnastics community would have learned something from the Larry Nassar scandal, but it appears that’s not the case. We aren’t going to stop until the gymnastics world is completely cleaned up and safe for young women.”
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Big 12 Announces Public Reprimand and Fine of Colorado
In accordance with the Big 12 Conference Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, the Conference has issued the University of Colorado a public reprimand and $50,000 fine for the inappropriate chants that occurred during last month’s home football game against BYU.
“Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference. While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for the chants that occurred in the stands during Saturday’s game, the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior. Colorado will receive a $50,000 fine in accordance with our Conference policies,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said.
Reportedly, the chants were directed against followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during Saturday’s football game against BYU. News outlets said the student section was chanting “F— the Mormons.”
Colorado coach Deion Sanders apologized during a press conference the following Tuesday:
“That’s not indicative of who we are,” he said. “Our student body, our kids, are phenomenal. So don’t indict us just based on a group of young kids that probably was intoxicated and high simultaneously.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that as well, but the truth is going to make you free. But BYU, we love you. We appreciate you and we support you.”
