Local gymnastics coach banned from working with kids at elite gym. He kept coaching, parents say.

One of the top gymnastics centers in the Charlotte area allowed one of its coaches to continue working with kids at the gym for months after the coach was banned while authorities investigate allegations of misconduct.

Franklin Winstead, a longtime coach at Southeastern Gymnastics in Weddington, was suspended in February by the U.S. Center for SafeSport from being at Southeastern Gymnastics or having any contact with athletes, including minors, at the gym, according to a June 13 letter USA Gymnastics sent to gym parents.

Winstead is listed on the USA Gymnastics website as banned from any member club due to a case “pending” with U.S. Center for SafeSport. The alleged misconduct under investigation is not clear. Neither USA Gymnastics nor SafeSport would disclose specifics.

A spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics did say Thursday that the organization notified Southeastern about the sanctions against Winstead in a “timely way,” adding that it is the gym’s responsibility to notify parents and obey the sanctions.

But, according to two parents with children who train at the gym, Winstead was coaching at Southeastern until earlier this month. Both parents asked not to be named to avoid potential retaliation against their daughters, but provided copies of the USA Gymnastics letter and messages from Southeastern’s owners.

The parents told The Charlotte Observer that Southeastern Gymnastics never informed them or other parents they’ve spoken to about sanctions against Winstead as he was allowed to keep coaching. Both said neither they nor their daughters have witnessed misconduct from Winstead.

The June 13 letter, sent in an email marked “confidential,” informed parents of sanctions against Winstead four months after they were in place.

“He is prohibited from any contact with USA Gymnastics Member Clubs, USA Gymnastics-sanctioned events, or other events or activities involving USA Gymnastics members, regardless of any business or financial interest,” wrote Rebecca St. John, USA Gymnastics’ safety and compliance counsel. Southeastern is a member of USA Gymnastics, which oversees the sport at a national level.

“He is not permitted to coach a USA Gymnastics Member or to be at a USA Gymnastics Member Club at any time for any reason. Additionally, he is not permitted to communicate with USA Gymnastics Minor Athletes or minor athletes at Southeastern Gymnastics Center,” the letter also says.

The two parents said Winstead was coaching at Southeastern Gymnastics the day they received the letters and had been there regularly in recent months.

On June 14, gym staff sent a message to parents through an app they use to communicate. It said that Southeastern officials had not been aware the letter was coming or what it contained.

“We and our legal counsel are investigating and will provide an update at the appropriate time,” the message said.

Two days later, a message in the app from gym owner Mike Leske said gym officials were still working to determine why parents received the letter, but that Winstead would not return to the gym “until we have ascertained it is appropriate to do so.”

“We do want to stress that there has been no evidence or information obtained that any (Southeastern Gymnastics) member, current or past, is involved with this matter,” Leske wrote in the message obtained by The Observer.

Leske did not return calls Thursday afternoon or Friday morning seeking comment.

When reached by telephone Thursday afternoon, Winstead declined to answer questions and referred a reporter to his lawyer, Richard Kronk. Kronk did not respond to multiple calls and an email containing questions about Winstead.

The parents who spoke with The Observer said they have not been satisfied with how Southeastern has handled the situation and worry their daughters may have been put in danger.

“What they’re doing, it’s a cover up,” said one of the parents. “I feel like in the sport of gymnastics so much abuse has happened, I feel like if I stay silent I am complicit.”

Winstead was still listed as a coach on the Southeastern Gymnastics website on Friday. His biography there says he is a former gymnast who has been working at the gym since it opened in 1997. Winstead was an All-American gymnast at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania and was the 1982 Division II national champion in the men’s floor exercise, according to the university’s athletics website.

Southeastern Gymnastics, off Providence Road about two-and-a-half miles south of Interstate 485, has developed a reputation as one of the top gyms in the area, regularly competing at the national level. Among parents, it’s known for churning out athletes who earn college scholarships.

Youth gymnastics has been rocked by scandal in recent years after after the 2016 revelation that USA Gymnastics had badly bungled its handling of sexual abuse allegations over decades. Most dramatic was evidence that USA Gymnastics Medical Director Larry Nassar had sexually abused hundreds of girls and how his behavior had been dismissed, covered up or tolerated.

In December, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reached a $380 million settlement with hundreds of gymnasts abused by Nassar, who is serving multiple decades-long prison sentences.

In the wake of that scandal, Congress created the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a nonprofit tasked with resolving abuse and misconduct reports from amateur athletes affiliated with groups recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

SafeSport is the body that issued the sanctions against Winstead in February. Winstead is one of 56 people listed as “pending resolution”, which means their case has not yet been resolved by USA Gymnastics or SafeSport.

Jill Geer, spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics, said action could be taken if the organization were to determine “that a banned or restricted person was acting in violation of that restriction.”

Geer added, though, that Winstead’s case is currently under the jurisdiction of SafeSport.

At least one parent at the gym isn’t waiting for USA Gymnastics or SafeSport to take action. She’s pulling her daughter, who’s trained there for years, out of the gym.

“We are not continuing with the gym,” she said. “I have to let them know I just don’t trust that they are being honest.

“She’s going to have to give up something she loves because of this. I don’t know what else we can do.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 1:48 PM.