PHOENIX - Hundreds of gymnasts from across the U.S. are in Phoenix for the Classic Rock Gymnastics Invitational held at the Convention Center.
In the wake of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, parents like Tina Jordan, whose daughter is competing over the weekend, said she’s more cautious than ever and if there’s a silver lining here, it’s that her 14-year-old daughter now knows it’s OK to stand up for herself when something doesn’t feel right.
“It’s a good lesson for all these girls to be able to voice their concerns, even if it’s just a concern and not be afraid that oh I’m going to get somebody in trouble,” said Jordan.
Her daughter, 14-year old-Gabrielle has been excelling at the sport for years competing within the Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics Center, a community now pretty shaken by what’s unfolded at the sport’s national level.
Arizona Sunrays owner Dan Witenstein said parents should be know exactly who they’re entrusting their children with, not just in gymnastics but across all athletic programs.
“You have to look into the organization and how they take care of things, and what’s important to them,” said Witenstein.
Secondly, he says Nassar’s sentencing marks a new chapter for the Gymnastics world, one of, if you see something say something. Witenstein along with his team decided to wear ribbons at the invitational in support of that message.
“So our kids either have these on or same color ribbons in their hair, it starts to inform the kids a little as to what’s going on,” said Witenstein.
Meanwhile, Jordan said she hopes the scandal won’t reflect negatively on the sport, rather enforce organizers to put athletes first, when mom and dad aren’t around.
“Especially at the top level, keep an eye on those things as well so you know your kids are safe,” said Jordan.