BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A personal feud between a Stanford gymnast and his coach has escalated into a lawsuit.
Gymnast Kaien J-Spencer said his coach publicly degraded and humiliated him throughout his three years at Stanford, causing him to suffer a mental health crisis and transfer to UC-Berkeley.
Coach Thom Glielmi allegedly said J-Spencer “was a waste of medical and athlete-dining resources” and discouraged assistant coaches from helping him, according to the lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Monday. “Glielmi also
questioned whether (J-Spencer) had friends, whether those friends actually liked him, and whether they knew him,” the suit said.
Glielmi, who has been Stanford’s gymnastics coach for 25 years and won eight national championships, didn’t return a request for comment Friday.
J-Spencer enrolled at Stanford in fall 2022. Glielmi allegedly told J-Spencer that there was an 80% chance he would be cut and wouldn’t be recruited by a top program.
J-Spencer performed well at a team competition and asked to be considered for an upcoming lineup, and Glielmi allegedly said no because J-Spencer “f***ing annoyed the s***” out of him, the suit said.
Stanford removed J-Spencer from the team in August 2024 and only reinstated him after his mother intervened, the suit said.
J-Spencer said he had a successful season as a junior, including winning an NCAA event versus Penn State.
J-Spencer said he complained to Stanford HR about Glielmi in May 2025, and Glielmi allegedly responded by discouraging assistant coaches from spotting J-Spencer during practice.
Glielmi banned J-Spencer from participating in team competitions for his senior year, so J-Spencer transferred schools, the suit said.
J-Spencer is suing Stanford for breaching the student-athlete handbook and inflicting emotional distress.
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