Moceanu leaves home, sues parents
Gold medalist claims they squandered all her money
Posted: Wednesday October 21, 1998 11:27 AM
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Moceanu: "Why can't you be my parents instead of me being your business?" Mike Powell/Allsport |
HOUSTON (AP) -- Gymnast Dominique Moceanu, a member of the 1996
U.S. Olympic team that won a team gold medal, is suing for
independence from her parents, alleging that they squandered her
fortune and oppressed her for years.
Moceanu, 17, filed a state lawsuit in Houston on Monday asking
to be declared a legal adult so her parents can't control her or
her money, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.
A judge signed a temporary restraining order saying Dumitru and
Camelia Moceanu must stay away from the gymnast, who ran away from
their Harris County home on Sunday, until a November 11 hearing.
Dumitru Moceanu, who opened a gym last year with some of his
daughter's earnings, declined comment to the newspaper. His wife
couldn't be reached for comment.
According to Miss Moceanu's lawsuit, her father has wasted money
she earned since turning professional at age 10.
But she told the Chronicle on Tuesday that the problem is about
much more than money.
"I never had a childhood," said Miss Moceanu, who added that
her parents fueled her Olympic dream starting at age 3. "When I
went to compete when I was young, I always was in fear because I
would get yelled at by my father, and I would say to myself, `I'm
13 years old, come on,'" she said. "Instead of talking to me,
they're always yelling with me, fighting with me."
Although many teenagers have similar feelings toward their
parents, Miss Moceanu said her life has been far from typical.
"It always had to be about the gym," she said about her
relationship with her parents. "I would think, `Don't you guys
know anything besides gymnastics? Can't we go out for ice cream?
Can't you be my mom and dad instead of me being your business?'
"Things have been getting rough for a while, a lot of people
don't know," Miss Moceanu said. "We've been trying to keep things
hidden."
The gymnast also told the newspaper her father has hit her "a
couple of times."
The gymnast and her lawyer, Roy W. Moore, both declined to say
how much money she has earned or how much has been lost. But Moore
said a trust that had been set up for her is all but gone.
"I kill myself training and going to school, and what is he
doing with my money?" she said. "They haven't been working since
1996. Where does their income come from? Me."
Moore said the Moceanu couple, Romanian immigrants, have refused
to answer their daughter's questions about where the money has
gone.
The attorney said all Moceanu must prove to gain her legal adult
status is that she is living away from home and can support
herslf. Once that status is granted, she will be able to demand an
accounting of her money through legal channels, Moore said.
Moceanu said she has been hiding from her parents for the past
few days, moving from house to house to stay with friends.
At 14, Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 Olympic team
at the Atlanta Games.
She's the only member of that team still competing in all
gymnastics events and is aiming to compete in the world
championships next year and possibly the Sydney Games in 2000.
In August, she became the first non-Russian to win the
all-around competition at the Goodwill Games.
Despite the legal action, she hopes to mend her relationship
with her parents.
"I love my parents," she said. "I hope that after all this is
over, we'll be closer than ever. That would be my dream."
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