Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 14, 1994 TAG: 9402140082
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORTLAND, ORE. LENGTH: Medium
She couldn't be stopped by the criminal justice system, the U.S. Figure Skating Association or, finally, the U.S. Olympic Committee.
After the attack on Nancy Kerrigan and all the revelations and accusations that followed, including a criminal investigation that continues, things had to break just right for Harding to skate in the Winter Games.
They did.
The final act came Saturday, when attorneys for Harding and the USOC spent seven hours in a locked suburban courthouse and wrangled over an agreement.
Patrick Gilroy, the low-keyed Clackamas County circuit judge who was the driving force in the talks, shuttled between the two groups of lawyers and persistently urged them to reach an agreement, sources said.
Finally, the result was simple: Harding drops her $25 million lawsuit against the USOC and gets to skate in Lillehammer.
USOC officials were concerned about the distraction a scheduled hearing on the Harding issue would create during the Games. The lawsuit was filed with the main intent to force Olympic officials to cancel that hearing and allow Harding to skate.
Harding's side got what it wanted.
"She's going to skate," her attorney Bob Weaver said as he left the courthouse.
Jeff Gillooly, Harding's ex-husband, pleaded guilty to racketeering in a plea-bargain deal for his role in the attack. He says Harding was in on the plot and gave the final go-ahead. She says she only lied to the FBI about her knowledge of the plot during the early part of her interrogation because she was afraid of Gillooly, who she says has abused her in the past.
Kerrigan, the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist, was struck above the right knee Jan. 6 in Detroit, where she was preparing for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The injury forced her out of the competition, which Harding won.
Harding has admitted she learned people around her were part of the plot when she returned home from Detroit and did not immediately tell authorities. She said she was sorry, asked for forgiveness and pleaded to remain on the Olympic team.
The first hurdle Harding had to clear to get to Lillehammer was to make certain she wasn't charged with a crime before the Games began. That was accomplished when Norm Frink, Multnomah County chief deputy district attorney, decided the deadline for a grand jury report of its investigation should be moved back to March 21. No indictments are expected before then.
Frink didn't want to be rushed by the Olympic issue, and prosecutors were less than satisfied with the level of cooperation they were getting from the Harding camp.
So prosecutors decided to let the figure skating association and USOC play out their hands first.
The USFSA formed a special committee to investigate Harding's involvement in the Kerrigan attack. The committee, headed by former USOC president Bill Hybl, invited Harding to come to one of its meetings. She declined.
The committee found there was reasonable cause to believe Harding knew of or was involved with the Kerrigan plot and ordered Harding to appear at a hearing to face possible disciplinary action.
USFSA president Claire Ferguson decided not to suspend Harding pending that hearing. Under association rules, Harding has 30 days, until March 7, to reply to the association's order.
The USFSA forwarded its findings to the USOC, which didn't decide to hold a hearing until Feb. 7. By then, Harding's attorneys were headed to the court, filing their lawsuit challenging the USOC process two days later.
There was no way she could fairly defend herself in such a hastily called hearing, they said, and the USFSA, not the USOC, was the proper forum for any disciplinary action. Besides, they noted, Harding has not been charged with any crime.
Fear, it became clear, is at the center of Harding's defense. Gillooly had beaten her several times, she said, and many people say they have seen the bruises.
"On one occasion, her face was swollen from where he punched her," said Mike Pliska, a friend of Harding's who was engaged to her briefly during one of her breakups with Gillooly.
by CNB