Lawsuit Alleges Years Of Abuse For Gymnasts At Marlboro Club

MARLBORO, NJ - Two Monmouth County gymnastics coaches, including one former U.S. Olympic and national team coach, are being sued by former trainees, with plaintiffs citing years of emotional and verbal abuse as well as sustained physical injuries due to overtraining at the elite Marlboro club, according to two lawsuits filed in Monmouth County Superior Court in October.

The complaint names head coach Maggie Haney of Freehold and assistant coach Victoria Levine of Morganville as defendants, alongside Monmouth Gymnastics Academy Elite and Arena Gymnastics, where the alleged abusive behavior took place.

Haney was suspended from coaching earlier this year, according to the Ocean County Register, after hearings and testimony from former trainees. She is suspended from coaching for eight years, prohibited from contacting minors and cannot attend USA Gymnastics events other than to accompany or watch her daughter compete.

One trainee who testified, Riley McCusker, 19, of Brielle, filed an October lawsuit against Haney, alleging a culture of unsafe training conditions at Monmouth Gymnastics Academy Elite (a.k.a. M.G. Elite) in Morganville. Among other allegations, McCusker lists body shaming, discouraging girls from getting their periods and encouraging girls to train after sustaining multiple injuries as part of Haney's repeated behavior as coach.

A similar lawsuit also filed in October, this time from Emily Liszewski, an 18-year-old former member of M.G. Elite, alleges a lack of safety protocols at the Marlboro training facility. The suit also describes a lack of proper padding in the training facilities, failure to ensure that concrete surfaces were covered by padding and failure to conduct reasonable inspections to ensure that all areas were properly matted and covered.

McCusker is a hopeful for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo; Liszewski competes with the University of Pittsburgh team.

According to Liszewski’s complaint, the minor was training on the M.G. Elite team when she first fractured her skull training: during a 2016 incident, she was training on the uneven bars at Arena Gymnastics when Haney and Levine pressured her into doing a skill, which resulted in Liszewski hitting her head on carpet-covered concrete. Liszewski subsequently became unconscious for three days and suffered from a skull fracture and seizures, according to the suit.

The complaint also outlines Haney's "harmful or offensive contact with Emily Liszewski, and/or put her in an imminent apprehension of such contact, while working as Emily Liszewski’s USA Gymnastics Coach."

“Defendant Haney did touch Emily Liszewski and/or invade her person without her consent by pulling her hair … as a result of Maggie Haney’s assault and battery, Emily Liszewski suffered physical injury, offense and insult," the suit continues.

Separately, McCusker’s complaint alleges Henley’s failure to spot or physically support gymnasts when they requested it during a skill, as well as a pattern of forcing gymnasts to perform exercises and skills while injured and ignoring doctor’s recommendations and medical restrictions for injured gymnasts as well as emotional abuse accusations include body shaming, promotion of unhealthy eating habits, promotion of unhealthy weight loss habits, bullying and repeated belittling of gymnasts.

In 2017, Haney trained McCusker separately on an injured wrist, stress-fractured foot, hamstring injury and leg injury (despite knowledge that the minor was injured), exacerbating and worsening the latter," the complaint says. Haney also reportedly forced McCusker to train on a fractured hip bone, exacerbating the injury and causing the trainee “great pain and suffering."

In a 2018 incident, Haney allegedly screamed loudly into McCusker’s ear while she was performing a backwards flip on the balance beam, causing the trainee to fall off the beam, resulting in injury. That season marked the first - and last - time McCusker was healthy enough to qualify for the Worlds team. She won a team medal that year.

Around June 2019, McCusker was diagnosed with exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, a serious muscle condition linked to overtraining. Despite the diagnosis, the athlete continued to compete, namely at the 2019 U.S. Classic and the Pan American Games. Both Haney and Levine allegedly “directed and forced” the trainee to continue strenuous activity, per the suit, therefore exacerbating the condition and risking “grave injury and harm” to the trainee.

Both plaintiffs demand a trial by jury on all issues listed. As of Nov. 17, a formal response has not been filed by any defendants.

“The Gym Defendants knew or had reason to know the Coach Defendants’ practices, demeanor, conduct and actions towards the young gymnast athletes they were coaching and training in their facility were harmful, abusive and/or detrimental to the health and well-being of the athletes,” McCusker’s suit reads.

“The Gym Defendants knew or had reason to know the Coach Defendants were directing and forcing young athletes, such as Plaintiff, to train and perform routines when they were injured or in weakened condition, and therefore at risk of further injuring themselves or exacerbating preexisting injuries … despite their actual or constructive knowledge, the Gym Defendants failed to take reasonable actions or precautions to protect Plaintiff and other young athletes being trained by the Coach Defendants from being harmed or injured while training in their facilities.”

Thanks for reading! Have a news tip? Email nicole.rosenthal@patch.com.Click here to get Patch email notifications, or to get breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app, download here. Follow Marlboro Patch on Facebook.