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SafeSport Issues No-Contact Suspensions for GAGE Coaches Al Fong and Armine Barutyan

The action follows a multi-year probe into dozens of misconduct reports, with the club saying it will seek arbitration.

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Kara Eaker talks to coach Armine Barutyan during a training day before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for gymnastics in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., June 23, 2021. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
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Overview

  • SafeSport lists both coaches as suspended from all contact, with Fong sidelined through Dec. 22, 2030 and Barutyan for one year.
  • The sanctions include suspension, required education, no-contact directives and probation, and the decisions remain subject to appeal.
  • GAGE publicly disputed the findings, criticized the process and said it intends to challenge the ruling in arbitration.
  • Reporting ties the case to an investigation launched around 2020 that examined roughly 40 allegations spanning the early 2000s to the 2020s.
  • USA Gymnastics says a member club must transfer ownership if its owner is suspended, raising immediate enforcement and operational questions for GAGE.