Two more staff members suspended from Blue Springs gymnastics center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- SafeSport suspended two Great American Gymnastics staff over misconduct allegations.
- Suspensions come after a 2019 probe and earlier penalties for Fong and Barutyan-Fong.
- Bans bar staff from sanctioned events; SafeSport withholds details to protect integrity.
Two staff members from Great American Gymnastics Express Center have been temporarily suspended after the suspension of the gym’s internationally known coaches, Al Fong and Armine Barutyan-Fong.
Longtime staffers Karla Grimes and Tiffany Davenport were suspended in February, two months after the suspensions of the husband-wife duo of Fong and Barutyan. The suspensions were handed down by the United States Center for SafeSport, which addresses abuse claims, following allegations of physical and emotional misconduct in sports.
Recent allegations of misconduct and abuse led to the December suspensions of Fong and Barutyan-Fong. Fong is prohibited from coaching at his Blue Springs gym, or anywhere else, until December 2030. Barutyan-Fong received a one-year suspension.
The suspensions were handed down in the wake of an investigation that began in 2019. SafeSport does not specify details of its investigations.
Grimes, a longtime manager at the gym, was suspended Feb. 12, according to SafeSport’s database. Davenport, who trained at the gym before becoming a coach, was suspended Feb. 18.
A temporary suspension means they are temporarily prohibited from participating in any sanctioned event in any capacity.
“A temporary suspension is only implemented in matters where the Center has sufficient evidentiary support,” SafeSport database documents say.
Fong previously told The Star that he is fighting his suspension through arbitration. He also has applied for a “temporary measures” hearing for Grimes and Davenport, Fong told The Star on Friday.
