Assault of Nancy Kerrigan

On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan, an American figure skater, was struck on the lower right thigh with a baton by assailant Shane Stant as she walked down a corridor in Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan.The attack was planned by Jeff Gillooly, then-husband of fellow American figure skater Tonya Harding, and his co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt.[6][7] Later, both a grand jury[8] and a disciplinary panel from the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA)[9] found further evidence of Harding's involvement during the planning and execution phases.[11] The Winter Olympics were also set to take place in February, where Kerrigan and Harding were likely to be the two female figure skaters representing the United States.Shawn Eckardt, a friend of Gillooly's who was also Harding's bodyguard before the attack, had originally been hired by the figure skater after she received an anonymous death threat.Shane Stant, Smith's nephew, initially planned to carry out the attack by himself and had travelled to Kerrigan's home rink in Cape Cod in late December 1993, but was unable to locate her.Harding's mother, LaVona, said she opposed the marriage: "I knew Jeff had a violent streak [...] he tried to break down the door because he thought [Tonya] had gone out with another boy.Two days later, she received a restraining order against Gillooly: "He wrenched my arm and wrist, pulled my hair and shoved me [...] he bought a shotgun, and I am scared for my safety.In a July affidavit, Harding wrote that she had been in an abusive marriage for two years, "he has assaulted me physically with his open hand and fist [...] put me down to the floor on several occasions.Eckardt replied that Smith was already driving to Portland and that he needed more information about Kerrigan — a photograph and the location of the ice rink where she practiced.[30][38] On December 27, Harding phoned her friend Vera Marano, a Pennsylvania figure skating writer, saying she and Gillooly had a "bet" about where Nancy Kerrigan trained.[38] Smith wanted to know if Eckardt was still interested in moving to Phoenix to help set up an anti-terrorist training camp as they had previously discussed.[38] On December 28, as the men were waiting for Gillooly to arrive at his office, Smith persuaded Eckardt to tape record the meeting to use as "leverage.""[30] When Derrick Smith was first interviewed by FBI on January 12, 1994, he held to the cover story that had been agreed upon with his co-conspirators until later in the day when he confessed to his part in the plot.[30] He then worked in Milwaukie, Oregon as a group home coordinator for Developmental Systems Inc., a company that employed and trained mentally retarded adults to sort laundry hangers.[50][51] Smith then applied for a police officer job and was waiting for his interview to be scheduled before Eckardt told him about possible bodyguard work in Oregon.Stant agreed to go to Portland with Smith for a meeting, then he paid $59 for a 21-inch (53 cm) ASP tactical baton from a store called Spy Headquarters.[38] Stant, thinking Kerrigan would still be training at the arena, frequented the parking lot for two days and relocated his car every half hour.[58][59] On January 14, the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) made a statement on whether Eckardt's arrest affected Harding's Olympic placement: "We will deal only with the facts.[64][65] Harding left her home that evening to practice figure skating with her coaches, where she spoke with reporters and performed a triple Axel.Vader, reporters for The Oregonian, wrote a biography of Harding called Fire on Ice, which included excerpts of her January 18 FBI interview.[89] Her admitted failure to report about an assault on a fellow competitor, supported by her FBI transcripts, led to Harding being formally charged with "[making] false statements about her knowledge".If she had been suspended, she likely still would have competed at the Olympics after filing suit, seeking an injunction against the USFSA, and asserting her rights under the Amateur Sports Act of 1978.[90] The panel examined evidence including the testimonies of Stant and Smith, Harding and Gillooly's telephone records, and notes found in a Portland saloon trash bin on January 30.[98] On March 16, Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution as a Class C felony offense at a Multnomah County court hearing.She agreed to reimburse Multnomah County $10,000 in legal expenses, undergo a psychiatric examination, and volunteered to give $50,000 to the Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) charity.The indictment concluded more than two months of investigation and witness testimonies from Diane Rawlinson; Harding's choreographer Erika Bakacs; freelance figure skating writer Vera Marano; and Eckardt's college instructor and classmates.A sidequest in the video game Spyro: Year of the Dragon centers around defending a polar bear ice dancer named Nancy from getting assaulted by Rhynoc hockey players as she attempts to rehearse for a performance.An episode of the animated comedy Futurama, "Stench and Stenchibility", features a devilish six-year-old girl named Tonya (voiced by Tara Strong; a reference to Harding), who is the opponent of Bender Rodriguez (John DiMaggio) in a tap dancing competition held by Randy Munchnik.As Bender attempts to sabotage her performance by filling her tap shoes with tacks in the locker room, Tonya catches him in the act, and breaks his leg with a nightstick in a similar manner to the attack on Kerrigan.