The U.S. Center for SafeSport interviewed former UCLA All-American gymnast Anna Li, and her mother, Jiani Wu, an Olympic medalist for China, this week, nearly two years after the center received the first of more than 30 complaints of physical, verbal and emotional abuse against the pair, according to three people familiar with the interviews.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport also received this week a new request that Li and Wu, coaches at a Chicago-area gymnastics club, be placed on interim suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, as well as complaints that Li that has continued to try to intimidate gymnasts who have filed complaints against her and Wu, according to SafeSport documents obtained by the Southern California News Group.
The center has also received complaints in recent weeks that parents who support Li and Wu at Legacy Elite Gymnastics, the Aurora, Illinois club owned and operated by Li’s family, have harassed and bullied on social media young gymnasts who have filed complaints against the coaches with SafeSport, according to center documents.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is continuing to investigate the case, and Li and Wu have told investigators they will provide the center with additional material, according to three people familiar with the investigation.
Li and Wu’s interviews took place against the backdrop of at least a half-dozen high profile NCAA Division I programs pulling out of the “BeLIeve College Camp” scheduled to be hosted by Legacy in July. A flier for the event under Legacy’s logo, the Olympic rings and the slogan “Where Success & Fun Is One!” said the camp is “Featuring College Clinicians from” UCLA, Cal, Florida, Washington, Michigan State, Utah State, Towson State and Northern Illinois.
For a $600 fee, gymnasts will train for two days with the coaches and participate in a question and answer session with the college coaches, according to the flier.
But coaches from six schools, including UCLA, Li’s alma mater, told SCNG that coaches and representatives from their programs would not be attending the camp. A flier for the camp currently on the Legacy website has removed all mention of any college program.
Legacy continues to promote an elite performance camp at the gym in July featuring Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 World individual all-around champion. Memmel did not respond to a request for comment.
Russell Prince, an attorney for Li and Wu, has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
USA Gymnastics first received allegations of “verbal, physical and emotional abuse” of young gymnasts by Li, an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team, and Wu, a former U.S. national team coach, in 2017, according to USA Gymnastics documents obtained by SCNG.
USA Gymnastics chose not to pursue an investigation of Li and Wu, and in June 2019, Li was appointed to the organization’s influential athletes’ council. USA Gymnastics documents contradict statements made Li Li Leung, the organization’s chief executive officer, denying that the Indianapolis-based national governing body had been aware of abuse allegations against Li prior to her appointment to the athletes’ council.
Li was forced off the council less than two months later following the August publication of an SCNG investigation detailing dozens allegations of physical, verbal and emotional abuse against her and Wu.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport opened an investigation into Li and Wu later that month.
At least 30 complaints have been filed with the U.S. Center for SafeSport since July 2019 in which gymnasts and their parents allege that Li disparaged gymnasts in front of their peers on a “daily basis,” regularly called girls fat, pressured injured athletes to train or compete, and threatened to make negative comments to college coaches recruiting them if they struggled in training, were unable to train or unable to compete because of injuries or illness, or appeared in Li’s opinion overweight, according to interviews with multiple gymnasts and parents and U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Gymnastics documents.
Wu on multiple occasions pulled young gymnasts by their hair when she was dissatisfied with their training, including at least one occasion when Wu allegedly pulled a girl by her ponytail all the way to the ground, according to interviews and multiple complaints submitted to U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Gymnastics.
Despite the severity of the allegations the U.S. Center for SafeSport did not interview Li and Wu until this week and also rejected an earlier request from parents that the coaches be placed on interim suspension, a measure with which SafeSport can suspend individuals as a protective measure pending the outcome of the investigation, according to documents. Individuals placed on interim suspension can then request a hearing within 72 hours.
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