Mother of teen in Knoxville cheer gym sex abuse lawsuit: 'Everyone knew'

John Doe had a secret he didn't feel safe sharing.

In a cache he kept hidden, the 15-year-old was keeping track of something he knew felt wrong, his first "real" relationship. He kept a diary. Photos. Text messages. Videos.

Eventually, Doe had to acknowledge a truth he didn't want to confront. That first relationship, with a 21-year-old coach at the cheer gym that was the teenager's whole life, wasn't love. It was abuse.

Even as word leaked out and followed him to a new gym, the teen continued to deny he had been victimized. It took more than one confrontation by his mother before Doe broke down crying.

"It just ruined me," Doe's mother told Knox News. "It rocked me to the core."

Fueled by anger at what she felt was a betrayal on multiple fronts, Doe's mother wasted little time in tracking down attorney Bakari Sellers and asking him to file a lawsuit on their behalf.

"We didn't choose to come forward," she said. "We didn't have a choice, really. We were the fish in the bowl. Everyone knew."

Be aware:8 questions parents should ask before their children join teams, groups or organizations

Lawsuit asserts wrongdoing by coach, gym and national associations

In the lawsuit filed in September in U.S. District Court in Memphis, Doe (a pseudonym used to protect his identity) and another teenage boy said the coach, who worked at a Premier Athletics gym in Knoxville, sexually abused them for years. The suit says the misconduct was enabled by the gym manager and the company Varsity, which organizes cheer competitions and created the U.S. All-Star Federation, the nonprofit governing body for the sport of competitive cheer.

Knox News is not naming the teen or his family to protect his identity.

The two teens say the national cheerleading organizations responsible for safeguarding the welfare of young athletes failed to protect them, and the conditions for abuse are enabled by the business model and governance of competitive cheer.

Premier Athletics attorney Chad Hatmaker disputed the allegations, saying the gym reported all complaints appropriately and eventually fired the coach. He also was subsequently terminated from a position on the University of Tennessee cheer team.

The civil lawsuit is proceeding at a slow pace, with a March 31 deadline for responses to be filed by the defendants.

An investigation into reported misconduct remains open, according to a spokesperson from the Knox County Sheriff's Office. The Knox County District Attorney General's Office has declined to comment, citing ethical rules around investigations.

Criminal charges against the coach could become a federal matter, the teen's attorney noted. Although most people think the Department of Homeland Security is focused on terrorism and illegal immigration, the agency also has a mandate to investigate and prosecute child exploitation Sellers said. Also on the federal level, the accusations of conspiracy in the civil suit could be investigated by the FBI under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Coach 'groomed' Doe before escalating his conduct, mom says

John Doe was just 14. The coach was a "cheerlebrity" on a nationally renowned all-star team with a huge social media following before he was hired by Premier Athletics in 2020. The coach began following Doe on Snapchat in late 2021 and first sent him sexually explicit photos and messages in January, according to the lawsuit.

Doe had recently come out and was particularly vulnerable because of mental health issues, his mother said.

The coach was a sophisticated "groomer" who instituted a "rule" that Doe couldn't save any of his communications, Doe's mother said.

"He groomed him for months, he slowly escalated," she said. "Then he would cut him off and (my son) would self-harm."

The coach also threatened Doe repeatedly with consequences should he reveal their relationship.

"He told (Doe) he would ruin him in cheer," the mother said. "Cheer is his world; he loves it. To threaten to take it away ... he felt like he had to keep his mouth shut."

Doe's mood swings all make sense to her now, his mother said, adding the coach was "never" on her radar.

"I never saw them talking or texting, I never heard him mention his name," she said.

The family had been following other cheer abuse cases, Doe's mother said, adding, "We talked about how screwed up it was, but I never once asked, 'Have you ever been faced with this?' I wish I had dug in further, instead of trusting a teenager to come to me and say these things."

More:One mother had enough at Rockstar Cheer before disturbing allegations arose

What led Doe's mother to sue

Even though Doe asked to transfer to another gym, his mother says she didn’t know he was trying to get away from the coach. He made the move in late May, but the coach continued to pursue him, eventually pressuring him into a physical relationship, Doe's mother said.

Knox News is not naming the coach because he hasn't been charged with a crime.

In September, Doe's mother got a call from the owner of her son's new gym. The woman told Doe's mother she had gotten messages that the coach was being investigated for inappropriate contact with juveniles and that her son was identified as one of the victims.

"They were telling coaches that (we) don’t want to press charges," Doe's mother said.

Doe's coach asked him about the allegations, but the teen insisted he hadn't told anyone. When Doe got home, he told his mother he was not a victim, saying it had happened to other kids, not him.

The next day, after finding evidence in his room, Doe's mother asked him to be truthful and to protect himself rather the coach. And that's when the teen's story came spilling out.

What really galls Doe's mother, she said, is the code of silence from the adults who learned about the allegations.

"When the other victim filed a (U.S. All-Star Federation) complaint in June, what Premier should have done was to halt every bit of access (the coach) had to the gym, make it public, reach out to all the parents, and say they were investigating and tell them to talk to your kids, and they didn’t," she told Knox News.

"They knew for months. ... All they had to do was reach out and say (the coach) was being investigated. During that three months, (the coach) was having my son sneak out and drink and do sexual things."

While the gym was investigating the coach, he continued working out at the facility, Doe's mother said.

"During that whole time, (the gym staff) never contacted us," she said. "When they closed the case, they said the problem was taken care of, that (Doe) was no longer at the gym and it was no longer an issue."

Premier's attorney declined to comment, saying, "Due to the pending litigation Premier will not comment on these allegations.  Premier looks forward to its day in court and presenting its case."

The man also continued cheering for the University of Tennessee and working at camps for the university during the gym's internal investigation, Doe's mother said.

The man had joined the University of Tennessee Spirit Program for the 2022-23 academic year, but was suspended from participation in spirit activities on Sept. 16 and was formally dismissed from the program on Sept. 27, UT Athletics spokesperson Tom Satkowiak confirmed in a late September email to Knox News.

The university declined to explain why the spirit team member was suspended or why he was dropped from the squad. UT contends federal privacy laws prohibit it from discussing individual students.

According to that emailed response from Satkowiak, USASF will contact colleges if it puts someone who is also a student-athlete on its restricted and ineligible list.

"Generally speaking, when the university is made aware of an allegation, we make every attempt to get information that would help us make informed decisions," Satkowiak wrote. "That includes reaching out to law enforcement, should they be involved."

Satkowiak did not respond to an email sent Tuesday asking whether the university has changed any of its policies related to checking whether coaches are on watch lists.

Healing will be a slow process

One good thing to come out of this nightmare? Doe and his mother talk more.

"He has always been the one who holds everything so close to his chest," she said. "We are stronger and more open and more trusting (of each other), that’s a positive. And he is learning what a true relationship is."

Doe was on a wait list for three months to see a therapist versed in sex abuse, but now goes weekly. His mother travels to Maryville for a parents support group.

"This has been a full-time job," she said. "It's not something that is ever going to go away. Sometimes (Doe) talks to his psychiatrist every other day. It affects his grades, it affects how he sees and trusts other people. ... I know it's going to be a long process. There's a lot of shame and embarrassment and blame."

Liz Kellar is a public safety reporter for Knox News. She can be reached by email at lkellar@knoxnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Mother in Knoxville cheer gym lawsuit explains teen's anguish