Clemson's reasons for firing gymnastics coach Amy Smith revealed in documents

CLEMSON — Clemson fired former gymnastics coach Amy Smith with cause in April, according to documents obtained by The Greenville News via an open-records request.

Smith's termination letter revealed she violated three clauses in her employee contract.

Emails revealed Clemson fired Smith after multiple reviews of the program's "culture and environment." The school received "an increased number" of messages from athletes in late fall 2024 and early spring 2025 that caused it to analyze its program further.

Clemson conducted a mid-year survey in January, and 19 of the 20 athletes completed it. Smith met with athletic director Graham Neff and executive senior associate athletic director Stephanie Ellison-Johnson on Feb. 17 to discuss the mid-year results.

Athletes and their parents requested meetings with Clemson administrators in March and April to discuss the program further. Clemson sent out end-of-year surveys to gymnasts on April 6, and Neff and Clemson administrators met with Smith on April 7 for her end-of-season check-in, where they discussed team culture and environment and roster management plans.

Clemson athletics officials also met with the university's general counsel on April 9 for guidance and shared information for legal review. Clemson allowed athletes to "voice their concerns" to Neff directly on April 11, and he and other administrators met with Smith again to continue their discussion. Her firing was announced a week later with Clemson expressing it "parted ways" with Smith in a brief media release on April 18.

Smith was formally fired with cause on April 21. If she was terminated without cause, Clemson would have owed her a buyout amount. Here is each clause Clemson executive senior associate athletic director Kyle Young cited in her termination letter:

• Failure to engage in "safe and responsible treatment" of student athletes on the team; or any other act or omission, including but not limited to physical and/or emotional abuse of student athletes, that creates, or could reasonably be expected to create, an "unreasonable risk of harm" to a student athlete.

• Any act that brings "disgrace or embarrassment" to the university or coach; any act that would "shock, insult, or offend" the community; any act that "manifests contempt or disregard" for diversity, public morals or decency; or violates applicable university requirements with respect to personal conduct.

• Any other act or omission that would bring "serious discredit" to the program or the university, or would be likely to cause prospective student-athletes to elect not to attend Clemson.

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The Greenville News reached out to Smith via her social media channels, and she did not respond to request for comment.

How Clemson gymnastics parents reacted to Amy Smith's firing

Emails from Clemson gymnasts' parents to Neff reacting to Smith's firing were included in the open-records request provided by the university. Their names were redacted in the documents.

One parent wrote: "We always want our children protected especially when they are away from home. You may not know but what this university has done will change the course of gymnastics. You may not see the results right away but it has and will make a statement in the gymnastics community that abuse in any form is not and will not be tolerated."

Another wrote: "I wanted to reach out and applaud you for the recent decisions made surrounding the gymnastics staff. ... With that, your decisions as an Athletic Director are hard and although I do not envy you, I am unbelievably grateful to you. You have made this sport just a little bit better!!"

Clemson hired Smith in April 2022. A November 2023 Washington Post story detailed allegations of verbal abuse and a toxic culture from former gymnasts at North Carolina, where she was an assistant, and Utah State, where she was a coach.

"Certainly, I have been in dialogue with Coach (Smith) prior to her hire, and certainly since then, and couldn't be more excited for her support of her program and student-athletes and our support administratively for those resources and expectations," Neff said at a November 2023 news conference.

Smith was let go after concluding her second season as the program's inaugural coach. She led Clemson to two NCAA tournament appearances, including its first NCAA regional win in 2025.

"In the end, it looks like you made the choice for your student athletes over how it would look initially for the program," another parent wrote. "That is incredibly impressive and commendable."

Clemson gymnastics hired husband-wife duo as program's next coach

Clemson hired former Cal coaches Elisabeth Crandall-Howell and Justin Howell  on May 12 to replace Smith. Clemson University's Board of Trustees compensation committee approved a five-year contract, during which the Howells both will make $225,000 annually.

The Howells were co-ACC coach of the year last season, sharing the honor with UNC coach Danna Durante.

"We emphasized finding a coaching staff with experience in some of the biggest moments, and who could continue the trajectory of our program - we feel we have that in Justin and Liz," Neff said in a release. "We are impressed with their technical ability, approach to operations, plan for development, incorporation of health, wellness and recovery, and attention to detail."

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at  dcarter@gannett.com  and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson gymnastics: Amy Smith fired for these reasons, documents show