UPDATE: Lee in the comments says “The family won the case, but only got a little over $8,000 for compensation.”
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Surprising and odd story.
Twelve year old gymnast Gao Shuai and his parents are suing his gym,the Xiannongtan Sports School in Beijing, accusing the gym of abuse. They are demanding 150,000 yuan (approximately $21,000 US) from the gym.
Gao Shuai had won major titles, including national champion in his age group. Now, he is unable to perform many skills that he used to be able to perform easily. They claim that he was withheld from training, which is strongly supported by the fact that the Xiannongtan Sports School does not have any record of his training in his last four months of attendance.
They also claim that Gao had received corporal punishment during training. Some of the punishment examples were “lengthy handstands” and kneeling for hours. Gao’s mother showed videos of what they claim to be abusive training in court. In addition to this, Gao’s diaries have entries stating that the older boys would beat on him and threaten him so he wouldn’t tell anybody.
Gao is has been diagnosed with depression and is currently receiving medical treatment. …
Mom looks pretty upset …
All Gymnastics, All the time – Chinese Boy Sues his Gym
Gymnastics Coaching.com 