Shocking details emerge after Clemson fires gymnastics coach over alleged abusive behavior

Clemson fired former gymnastics coach Amy Smith in April following alleged “verbal and mental abuse,” according to a report Monday from The Post and Courier.The South Carolina-based school reportedly cited sections on “responsible treatment of athletes,” “demonstrating concern for their welfare” and “physical and/or emotional abuse” in its termination letter.One parent of a Clemson gymnast thanked athletic director Graham Neff for dismissing Smith on April 18 after he notified the athletes’ parents, stating in an email how it would “make a statement in the gymnastics community the abuse in any form is not and will not be tolerated.”“No one ever wants anyone to lose a job, but we also have hopes and expectations that people will do their jobs and do it without using any type of verbal and mental abuse,” the parent wrote.Clemson began moving toward firing Smith following an increase in messages to the school’s anonymous hotline “regarding the program’s culture and environment,” per the report.Stephanie Ellison-Johnson, Clemson’s executive senior associate athletic director for sport administration and senior woman administrator, revealed in an April 10 email that there had been a bump in messages from the fall of 2024 to the spring of 2025, including “emotional/mental abuse within the gymnastics team.”She called for a “deeper dive,” per the outlet, which led to a survey in January and one-on-one meetings with 15 of 20 gymnasts.The school reportedly had a “midyear review” on Feb.17 with Smith, Ellison-Johnson and Neff before bringing in the parents for a March discussion.Clemson later met with Smith on April 6 regarding “team culture and environment and roster management plans” for 2025-26, before the athletics office “engaged legal counsel” for guidance and information sharing on April 9, as relayed by Ellison-Johnson and reported by the paper.The school had an April 11 meeting set between Neff and the gymnasts ...