Gymnastics coach suspended for sexual misconduct allegation

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A coach at a well-known Pennsylvania gymnastics training center has been suspended by the sport's governing body until a hearing on a sexual misconduct allegation.

USA Gymnastics told The Allentown Morning Call that John Holman's suspension, enacted May 30, is a requirement when such allegations are reported.

Holman has coached for about 40 years at Parkettes Gymnastics Club, which has trained thousands of gymnasts including several Olympians.

Messages seeking comment left at the club and at the 66-year-old Holman's home weren't returned Friday.

The allegation is being investigated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the organization tasked with policing sexual abuse in Olympic sports.

No details about the allegation are given in the suspension notice. A spokeswoman for Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said his office in not aware of allegations against Holman.

Last year, The Morning Call reported that former U.S. National Team member Jessica Armstrong said she was sexually abused by a coach while training at Parkettes in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The coach Armstrong accused, who wasn't named, has not worked for the club since the 1980s.

Parkettes co-founder Donna Strauss told the newspaper at the time she hadn't received any other reports of abuse.

The club has not been embroiled in the investigation of sexual abuse by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

Hundreds of girls and women have said Nassar molested them when he was a physician, including while he worked at Michigan State and Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to multiple sex crimes and was sentenced last year to what amounts to a life prison term.

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Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com