Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu says her father called her this week and tried to set up a secret meeting, violating her protective order against him.
But Dominique says she won't report him to Houston police. "He'll be in jail for a year and then I'll feel guilty," she says.
But, Dominique says, "if it happens again, I'll do it. It's just so frustrating."
Dominique was granted a protective order against her father, Dumitru, Dec. 9. She testified that she had felt threatened since gaining legal independence from her parents Oct. 28. Her father is not permitted to call or come within 500 feet of her for a year.
When reached Wednesday night at Moceanu Gymnastics Inc., Dumitru denied that he called his daughter.
During their brief conversation, Dominique says, "He's like, 'Nobody has to know. Let's just meet. Talk about the gym.'
"I'm like, 'You're not supposed to be calling me.' He's like, 'Why?' He said, 'When can I call you again?' "
Dominique, 17, is trying to move forward with her life.
She hopes to resume training next week and begin classes in two weeks at Tomball College in Houston. She hasn't practiced since the crisis began Oct. 17 with a head-to-head argument between her father and her former coach, Luminita Miscenco.
Dominique is "anxious to get back in the gym. Hopefully, it'll work out. If it doesn't, there's life after gymnastics."
Dominique, who won a gold medal in the all-around event at the Goodwill Games in July, wants to train at Brown's Gymnastics in Houston. She refuses to work out in the multimillion dollar, 70,000-square-foot gym bearing her name while her father is there. Rita Brown, who also owns gymns in Orlando and Las Vegas, trained 1988 Olympian Brandy Johnson.
The 1996 Olympic gold medalist hopes to reunite with Alexander Alexandrov, who works at the Houston gym.
"He coached me at junior nationals in 1994," she says. "He's a good coach."
Dominique is scheduled to meet with her lawyer, Ellen Yarrell, and CPA and financial adviser, Bill Hickl, Saturday to discuss finances. Since she turned pro at 10, she estimates she has earned $2 million-$2.5 million.
In early November, Dominique sent a letter to her father's CPA requesting records showing her earnings and expenses.
"To this date, we have not received any information pertaining to Dominique's financial situation," Hickl says.
Asked if she'll go to court to obtain the records, Dominique says: "I probably will."