Huntersville gym coach accused of abuse

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A Huntersville gymnastics coach is making national headlines after claims of physical and emotional abuse.

Former students said coach Qi Han threw things at them and assigned others to the "fat" group.

(Han)

Han is the owner and head coach at Everest Gymnastics.

Gymnast Ashton Locklear was the first to speak to the New York Times claiming Han had abused her.

Channel 9 spoke with Locklear in 2016 when she was picked as an alternate for Team USA in the Olympics.

The New York Times reported she left Everest Gym earlier this year after what she claims was emotional and physical abuse by Han.

Since her accusations, four other gymnasts have come forward backing her claims of abuse.

Those gymnasts claim Han would start practice by calling out girls as young as 9 years old for their weight and put them in a fat group.

They claim he would call the gymnasts “stupid,” throw things at them or shove them off the high bar.

Some parents said they have spoken to their children who deny ever witnessing this behavior.

“They stand up and care about the health safety and wellbeing of these kids, and that's what hurts me,” parent Mike Robinson said. “These are the good guys. We need more coaches like them with everything that's going on in gymnastics right now.”

"We do not tolerate abuse of any kind in our facility,” Everest Gym said in a statement. “We deny these alleged claims and we are prepared to defend ourselves."

Cox Media Group