Former Olympic Coach Says USA Gymnastics Mishandled His Case

When asked about Mazeika’s case, Carol Fabrizio, a spokeswoman for the governing body, responded in a text message that the organization could not comment in detail because it seeks “to preserve the integrity of the process and the privacy of all participants.” Daniel Hill, a spokesman for SafeSport, declined to comment because the organization does not discuss specific cases.

Prince, Mazeika’s lawyer, said people, including a lawyer representing many Nassar victims, this week have posted on social media suggesting that Mazeika was just another Nassar. Yet U.S.A. Gymnastics did nothing to correct the record, Prince said.

He added, “This is a 100 percent fail, and the reality of the situation is they have a set of rules that doesn’t effectively work.”

The SafeSport investigation of Mazeika involves an 8-year-old girl who faults two tumbling and trampoline coaches at Houston Gymnastics Academy in Texas for injuring her during post-training session play last September. Mazeika is president of the gym, but he did not coach her, Prince said. Neither of the coaches directly involved in the situation — Oybek Mamataliyev and George Mamataliyev — could be reached for comment. Both remain on U.S.A. Gymnastics’ suspended and restricted list.

Mazeika said he received a letter in November from the girl’s lawyer, informing him that the lawyer had been retained to pursue any legal claims. The date of the reported injury lines up with the date of the failure-to-report claim that was filed with SafeSport.

Prince said that Mazeika was under no obligation to report a typical gym injury to SafeSport or to law enforcement, and that resources were being wasted on a baseless claim that is “in no way an issue for SafeSport.” He also criticized U.S.A. Gymnastics’ decision to place any interim restrictions on Mazeika when the coach was not accused of abusing any athletes, and thus was not an imminent danger to them.

Those interim measures, he said, were just for show, considering coaching rules already dictate that coaches cannot be alone with unrelated minors.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/sports/olympics/gymnastics-coach-abuse-allegation.html