Gymnastics center abruptly closes, owner posts doomy message online
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BATON ROUGE - A gymnastics center suddenly closed last week leaving parents with questions about why and what's next. One parent reached out to 2 On Your Side looking for more information.
Ginnipher Spencer has a gymnast at home who has been taking classes at Valor Gymnastics on Bluebonnet Boulevard for two years.
"She's loved her time at gym, that's her day of the week. She loves going there every Saturday morning," Spencer said.
Except this Saturday she won't be able to attend class. The place closed - temporarily - on April 28. Spencer got an email about it last week.
"The lack of information and the suddenness of everything is what really has us concerned," she said.
The message is also posted to the website and signed by owner Bryan Kiser. Kiser says he's suspending operations, mentioning rumors and "flat out lies." The message says all matters surrounding the gym have been reported to state and local law enforcement, USA Gymnastics, and the U.S. Center for Safe Sport. It goes on to say that "it's time for the authorities and the courts to sort things out."
Spencer is concerned about the message and says she's looking for more transparency about what the accusations and rumors are.
"The parents have just been left in the dark about what's going on," Spencer said.
Court documents have been filed against Bryan Kiser, including an eviction petition for non-payment of rent and property taxes totaling nearly $55,000. There's also a lawsuit for damages. An attorney representing Kiser says the allegations predate his client's ownership and operation of the gym and that his reporting of those allegations are what led to the legal actions pending against him.
Below is the full statement:
Bryan & Prince represent Bryan Kiser and Valor Gymnastics in all matters connected to participation and compliance within the Olympic sports movement. While we are unable to address the ongoing litigation, I can assure you that Mr. Kiser’s actions have been to protect the health and safety of the athletes that are under his care. The allegations of misconduct that were brought to his attention were immediately reported to USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, and local law enforcement. It’s important to note, the allegations predated Mr. Kiser’s ownership and operation of the club. Nevertheless, the allegations triggered Mr. Kiser’s on-going reporting duty under federal law. These same rules do not allow the gym to investigate the allegations, and Mr. Kiser has no opinion on the allegations beyond his required reporting. Unfortunately, it seems clear Mr. Kiser’s compliance with the law and actions in fulfilling his mandatory reporting obligations related to sport are what ultimately gave rise to the legal actions currently pending against him. Mr. Kiser will shortly be take advantage of all legal remedies available to him in order to address the harm he, Valor Gymnastics, and his athletes have suffered in connection to his good-faith reporting.
Mr. Kiser has been participating within the sport of artistic gymnastics for over thirty-five years, and he continues to hold state and nationally recognized offices within gymnastics. His reputation within the gymnastics community is beyond reproach, and his commitment to protecting athlete welfare and providing them with a safe environment to train is unwavering. It’s unfortunate the impact that the litigation has had on the Valor athletes and families, and it is unknown as to the future operation of the gym. Valor will be addressing any issues with the impacted families on a case-by-case basis and hopes to return to normal operation as soon as possible.
Spencer is looking for more transparency and also hoping for a refund, as are others.
Radoslav Stefanov is the owner of the building on Bluebonnet Boulevard. He regrets the announcement of the temporary closure of the gymnastics facility and hopes to reopen another gymnastics facility at the same location as soon as possible. Stefanov says he is currently engaged in legal action against Mr. Kiser due to his failure to make payments under the agreement they had and as a result had no choice but to terminate the agreement and pursue eviction.
"We want to clarify that our legal action is solely related to the breach of contract by Mr. Kiser and is not related to any other legal proceedings he or others may be involved in," said Stefanov.
In a courtroom Tuesday, the eviction hearing was pushed back to later this month in order to combine it with another lawsuit and preserve resources.
The U.S. Center for Safe Sport cannot confirm or deny an investigation into Valor Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics says it's prohibited from discussing allegations within the U.S. Center for Safe Sport's jurisdiction. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says it does not have an open investigation involving Valor Gymnastics.