Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 15, 1994 TAG: 9401150120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STONEHAM, MASS. LENGTH: Medium
That's when the smile withers and the easy, chatty answers slow to a terse, curt response.
"I can't understand any explanation of why something like this would occur," she said solemnly, speaking Friday for the first time since her assault Jan. 6 was linked to her figure skating rival.
"I don't think I could ever understand the answer, because I can't think that viciously," Kerrigan said during a news conference held in the snowy driveway of her home.
Harding's bodyguard, Shawn Eric Eckardt, was arrested in Portland, Ore., on Thursday along with Derrick Brian Smith and charged with conspiracy to commit assault. A third suspect, Shane Minoaka Stant, surrendered Friday to authorities in Phoenix.
Harding met with attorneys after surfacing with her ex-husband Friday, and NBC News said Eckardt accused Harding of being involved in the "planning and cover-up" of the attack on Kerrigan.
A law enforcement source told NBC there was no warrant for Harding, but that she is under "active criminal investigation."
Asked how she felt about being on the U.S. Olympic team with Harding, Kerrigan said in a flat, emotionless voice:
"I have nothing to say to her."
Kerrigan, a bronze medalist at the 1992 Olympics, was clubbed on the right knee after practice at the U.S. championships in Detroit. The injury forced the 24-year-old skater to withdraw from the event - an Olympic qualifier, which Harding went on to win. But she was named to the Olympic team anyway, along with Harding, 23.
Kerrigan, wearing a red "USA" sweat shirt and blue jeans and surrounded by her parents and two brothers, said she hoped to be back on the ice in a few days and would be ready to skate at the Winter Games in February in Lillehammer, Norway.
"I'm assuming I can do the program of my life," Kerrigan said. "It's up to the judges, not me. I'm just really focusing on the skating.
"My leg is going to be OK," she said. "There shouldn't be any distractions, because that's what I've been focusing on all year. My job is to skate.
"The way my knee is going, the swelling is down," she said. "It looks pretty good."
Her life, though, never will be the same. Security guards will accompany her to practice.
"I'm not going anywhere by myself now," she said. "I can't really go to Dunkin Donuts and pick up a cup of coffee."
Still, Kerrigan said it's "not really normal to sit in my house all day." She added: "I can't let it stop me from trying to live."
Kerrigan said her life has been disrupted by the security considerations and by the reporters and photographers who follow her around.
Still, she said, "I trust people. I don't want to lose faith in people."
Kerrigan worked out Friday for two hours, exercising in a swimming pool and doing flexibility drills on a basketball court.
by CNB