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David King
  • 22 hours ago
This is the unbelievable true story of Tonya Harding vs Nancy Kerrigan.
Made to be watched on TV or listened to as a podcast.
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*CREDITS:*

*Story Producer/Script:*
_David King_

*Sound Design*
_Ken Joyner_

*Animations:*
_Thane Katsillis_
_Simon Belgrano_
_David King_
_Maria Colares_
_Aditi Rawat_
_Adam Frith_

*Video Editing:*
_David King_
Transcript
00:00She was the reigning US champion and a favorite for Olympic gold.
00:04But after completing a practice session for the national championships,
00:07as she walked off the ice and passed through a blue curtain into a dark hallway,
00:11the cameras pulled away, a loud thump echoed through the corridors,
00:15and a haunting scream rang out through the quiet air of Detroit's Kobo Arena.
00:20As the camera rushed back to see what had happened, Nancy Kerrigan sat curled up,
00:25writhing in pain on the floor as a strange man disappeared from the scene.
00:30The security staff rushed through the halls, chasing after the man,
00:33and the medical staff asked Nancy what had happened.
00:37But all Nancy could respond with was why?
00:40Why?
00:41Why?
00:45Nancy had been assaulted, a single, brutal hit just above her right knee.
00:50And so the question was indeed, why?
00:53Who would benefit from one of the greatest US figure skaters
00:56being taken out just weeks before the Olympics?
01:00Before the attack, to someone unfamiliar with the sport of figure skating,
01:04Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding may have seemed like two sides of the same coin.
01:10They were both remarkably good skaters at the very top of their craft.
01:13Tonya had won the 1991 US figure skating championships,
01:17becoming the first American woman ever to land one of the hardest figure skating jumps,
01:22a triple axel in competition.
01:24While the following year, Nancy Kerrigan outperformed Tonya at the US championships,
01:28and went on to also earn an Olympic bronze at the 1992 Winter Games.
01:34However, the truth is, their roads to success,
01:37as well as how it impacted the way they approached the sport,
01:40and what they were willing to do in order to win, were very different.
01:45Tonya Harding, born in 1970, grew up in a tough, working-class part of East Portland, Oregon.
01:51Her childhood was unstable.
01:53It was full of money troubles and a chaotic home life
01:55that was a world away from the fancy, polished figure skating scene.
01:59Her mum, LaVonna, worked as a waitress,
02:01and her dad, Albert, bounced between odd jobs,
02:04but most of the time was managing apartments or driving a truck.
02:07But Albert was also a chronic smoker,
02:10and he often couldn't work due to suffering from emphysema,
02:13a lung disease which made it difficult for him to breathe.
02:16Money was always tight in the Harding household.
02:19The family moved around a lot,
02:21being constantly forced out of the home when their rents were raised,
02:24and needing to find housing or sometimes trailer parks that they could afford to live in.
02:29When Tonya was introduced to ice skating at a young age,
02:33she showed a lot of natural athletic ability and coordination early on,
02:37and so her parents insisted that she continue.
02:40For Tonya, figure skating became a way out of a difficult home life
02:44and a method of expressing herself in a way she didn't always feel like she could at home.
02:49She often said that the ice felt like the one place that she had control and freedom.
02:54It certainly wasn't a cheap hobby,
02:56but LaVonna recognised Tonya's talent early on,
02:59and she started to sense that success in that world could pay off in a big way in the future,
03:05not just for Tonya, but for the whole family.
03:07So LaVonna pushed Tonya relentlessly to succeed.
03:13LaVonna worked multiple low-wage jobs just to pay for lessons, costumes, and time on the ice.
03:19She even sewed Tonya's skating costumes herself to save some cash.
03:22While the other competitors had polished, custom-made dresses from professional designers,
03:27Tonya's costumes looked homemade and amateurish by comparison.
03:31In any other sport, this might have been seen as charming and endearing.
03:36However, in the image-obsessed world of figure skating,
03:39Tonya's costumes were looked down on by the judges and audiences
03:42trying to uphold figure skating's wealthy, classist image.
03:47Tonya was even told that her look was too trashy,
03:50and that her mum's homemade dresses didn't fit the image the skating world wanted.
03:55On top of the money worries, Tonya's family life was also quite dysfunctional.
04:00Tonya has always said that her mother physically and psychologically abused her from a young age,
04:06trying to shape Tonya into her own image of a world-class figure skater.
04:11Tonya says that the abuse was a regular thing by the time she was as young as seven years old,
04:16and LaVonna even admits to hitting Tonya at the rink with a hairbrush at least once.
04:21And Tonya alleges that one time, when she wanted to take a break from skating,
04:26LaVonna completely lost it,
04:28and even went as far as throwing a kitchen knife at Tonya in her uncontrolled rage.
04:32It was these experiences that made Tonya tough, defensive,
04:36and gave her a somewhat normalised familiarity with violence,
04:40which was totally foreign to the typically pristine, prim and proper world of figure skating.
04:47But even the positive influences in Tonya's life alienated her from what was typically expected of an elite figure skater.
04:54See, Tonya was quite close to her dad, Albert,
04:57who taught her skills that were totally opposite to the delicate femininity typically associated with figure skating.
05:03At her dad's side, she learned to hunt, fish, chop wood, drag race, and even rebuild car engines.
05:10Albert taught her the value of hard work.
05:12He drove her to ice rinks, fixed her skates,
05:15and he instilled a fearlessness and sense of grit in Tonya, which deeply impacted her skating.
05:21Tonya's skating was raw, explosive, and seriously athletic.
05:25She was an incredible jumper,
05:26and her sheer strength allowed her to compete on a level rarely seen in figure skating.
05:31At the 1991 US Figure Skating Championships,
05:34Tonya made history when she became the first American woman,
05:37and only the second woman ever after Japan's Midori Ito,
05:41to successfully land a triple axle in competition.
05:44The jump, which involved three and a half forward-facing rotations,
05:48was considered to be the toughest in the sport.
05:50And later that year, Tonya would do it again,
05:53becoming the first woman to land it in a short program,
05:56and the first to land two in a single competition.
05:59For a brief moment,
06:00her power in the sport was so undeniable,
06:03that it didn't matter what the judges' preconceptions were.
06:06Tonya had proven herself,
06:07and she was widely considered to be the greatest figure skater in America.
06:13So, as the 1992 Winter Olympics approached,
06:17Tonya had secured herself a spot in the women's team,
06:20and flew to Albertville, France, to compete on the world stage.
06:23But, as Tonya represented the US alongside Christy Yamaguchi and Nancy Kerrigan,
06:29she didn't hold up under the pressure of the world's eyes,
06:32as well as her compatriots did.
06:34Tonya failed to land her signature triple axle,
06:37and she came in fourth place,
06:39narrowly missing out on a medal.
06:41Tonya couldn't believe it.
06:43She was furious.
06:44Regardless of her own faults in her routines,
06:47she felt, as she often did,
06:49like the Olympic judges were too focused on artistry and image,
06:53and she felt like they didn't focus enough
06:55on athletic skill and technical difficulty,
06:57which were her strengths.
06:59She stood on the sidelines
07:00as she watched Christy Yamaguchi take home the gold
07:03and Nancy Kerrigan take home the bronze.
07:07But despite being upset,
07:09Tonya also knew that she wouldn't have to wait another four years
07:12to get another chance to prove herself,
07:14because the Winter Olympics were undergoing a change at the time.
07:18See, while the Winter Games had been held every four years
07:21at the same time as the Summer Games,
07:23the International Olympic Committee were about to change that,
07:26separating the two events into alternating even-numbered years.
07:31And so, two years later, in 1994,
07:34the Winter Olympics were due to be held again
07:36in Lillehammer, Norway,
07:38which would become the first Winter Games
07:40to be held in a different year from the Summer Games.
07:43When Tonya left France and arrived back in the US,
07:46she tried to refocus her efforts on preparing for Lillehammer.
07:50This time, she was determined to take home the gold.
07:53She imagined the sponsorships,
07:54the opportunities,
07:55and the respect that was up for grabs.
07:58She knew that she had the ability to achieve it.
08:00She just needed one more shot at it.
08:03And with Christy Yamaguchi stepping away from the Olympics
08:05after her gold medal win to focus on skating professionally,
08:09Tonya knew there was really only one other skater in America
08:13who had the potential to outshine her on the world stage.
08:19Nancy Kerrigan was born in 1969 in Stoneham, Massachusetts.
08:24Much like Tonya, Nancy also came from a working-class background.
08:28Her dad, Daniel Kerrigan, worked as a welder.
08:30But much like Tonya's parents,
08:32he too juggled multiple jobs to pay for Nancy's skating career.
08:36He even drove the Zamboni at the local rink
08:38just to cover Nancy's lessons.
08:40Her mum, Brenda, had been legally blind since Nancy was a year old
08:44due to a degenerative eye disease.
08:46This unfortunately meant that Brenda
08:48could never truly see her daughter's face
08:50or her performances on the ice.
08:53However, remarkably,
08:54she could still always tell when it was Nancy on the ice,
08:57apparently just from the way she moved.
09:00Despite the unique hardship the Kerrigan family faced,
09:03unlike the chaotic Harding household,
09:05the Kerrigan family managed to create and maintain
09:08a stable and focused environment for Nancy.
09:10Nancy was the youngest of three and the only girl.
09:14She was a bit of a favourite,
09:15so a lot of the family's energy and resources
09:18went into making her Olympic dream a reality.
09:21Nancy's family and her team understood
09:24and embraced the unspoken rules of the game,
09:27carefully crafting a polished, affluent image
09:30which represented everything the figure skating elites wanted.
09:33This polished presentation on the surface
09:35made Nancy incredibly marketable.
09:38Her appearance and her ballerina-like style
09:41attracted a range of corporate sponsorships
09:43which Tonya wasn't offered.
09:45This financial boost soon lightened the load on Nancy's family
09:48and allowed her to get the pricey,
09:50high-fashion costumes that the figure skating world valued.
09:54And that became her signature look.
09:56And after she took home that Olympic bronze medal in 1992,
09:59she was showered in even more sponsorship dollars
10:03from even bigger names.
10:05Names like Campbell's Soup, Evian, Reebok and Seiko.
10:09But the difference in how Tonya and Nancy
10:11each approached the culture of figure skating
10:13didn't just affect their financial support,
10:16it also affected their scores.
10:19The subjective way judging worked
10:21was a constant headache for Tonya.
10:23See, figure skating scores mix a technical mark
10:25for jumps and spins with a presentation mark for artistry.
10:29So, while Tonya's athletic talent was undeniable,
10:33she consistently got lower scores for presentation.
10:36Her powerful style was also often called unfeminine,
10:40her homemade costumes tacky
10:42and her music choices too aggressive.
10:45Nancy, on the other hand,
10:46shined in the presentation category
10:47with her elegant and expensive outfits
10:50helping her earn high marks
10:52that could often make up
10:53for a less than perfect technical performance.
10:55You know, the actual skating part of figure skating.
10:59This situation put Tonya in a really tough
11:02and high-pressure spot.
11:04Her historic triple axel was her biggest strength,
11:07but it also became a liability.
11:09It was an objective athletic feat
11:11so difficult that the judges couldn't ignore it.
11:14However, relying so heavily on this high-risk move
11:17meant her success was always all or nothing.
11:21If she didn't land the axle,
11:22her scores would plummet
11:24since she didn't have the artistic safety net
11:26that skaters like Nancy enjoyed.
11:28This forced an environment of intense desperation for Tonya,
11:32where she felt like she had to be technically flawless
11:34just to compete against the others
11:36who would conform to the aesthetic expectations of the sport.
11:40As Tonya tried focusing her efforts
11:42on the future possibility
11:43of making it onto the podium at the Olympics,
11:45it felt like a losing battle.
11:47And this mentality of desperation and victimhood
11:50started bleeding out
11:52and infecting the others in Tonya's inner circle,
11:55especially Tonya's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly.
11:59Tonya had married Jeff in 1990,
12:02when she was just 19 years old.
12:04However, just over a year later,
12:07Tonya was already filing for divorce.
12:09The reason why was revealed in a police report
12:12filed at the time by Tonya.
12:13Tonya was seeking a restraining order on Jeff.
12:17She claimed he had physically assaulted her.
12:19And when he then brought a shotgun into the house,
12:22she started fearing for her life.
12:24A month after that restraining order was submitted,
12:27another police report was filed,
12:29again by Tonya.
12:30This time, she said that Jeff had tracked her down,
12:33cornered her in a boatyard,
12:35and threatened to break her legs and end her career.
12:38However, just a few months later,
12:41the two were back together again.
12:42The restraining orders and divorce were annulled,
12:45like nothing had ever happened.
12:47Tonya found herself stuck in a cycle of control
12:50and dependency on Jeff.
12:52And he started to depend on her too.
12:55Jeff was deeply invested in Tonya's career,
12:58and he viewed her success as the way
13:00to fulfill his own dreams of a better life.
13:03And so despite the volatility in their relationship,
13:06Tonya and Jeff did agree on one thing.
13:08If they just had a little bit more money,
13:11life would be a heck of a lot easier.
13:13And they both saw a clear avenue to get there.
13:17Jeff and Tonya knew an Olympic medal
13:19would mean big money in endorsements,
13:21likely millions of dollars,
13:23enough to really change their lives
13:25and pull them out of their financial struggles.
13:27They knew Tonya was capable of bringing home a medal,
13:30but after she fell short of the podium in 1992,
13:33they both saw the 94 games as Tonya's second
13:36and perhaps final chance.
13:38This desperation caused Jeff
13:40to become even more violent and controlling.
13:43And despite the couple officially filing for divorce
13:45again in 1993,
13:47they still referred to each other as husband and wife.
13:50Even in divorce,
13:52Jeff maintained his grip on Tonya's career
13:54and her life,
13:56at least for now.
13:57The US had two available spots
13:59for women's figure skating
14:01at the 1994 Olympics.
14:03But to qualify for one of the available Olympic spots,
14:06Tonya would need to skate well enough
14:08at the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships
14:11to convince selectors
14:12she was one of the two strongest choices.
14:15Although for Jeff and Tonya,
14:16after seeing how Tonya had been judged
14:18at previous competitions,
14:20they weren't willing to rely
14:21on a judge's subjective perception
14:23of Tonya's outfits or style
14:25to secure her position at the games.
14:27And so it was decided
14:29that something needed to be done
14:30about her biggest competition for selection,
14:33Nancy Kerrigan.
14:36Jeff had some nefarious ideas
14:38about what to do,
14:39but he knew that if he was going to try
14:41and pull them off,
14:42he was going to need to hire a professional.
14:44And luckily,
14:45they already had the perfect guy
14:47at their disposal.
14:50Sean Eckhart,
14:51one of Jeff's childhood friends,
14:53had joined Tonya's team
14:54as her bodyguard in 1993.
14:57He seemed to show up in their lives again
14:59at just the right time,
15:01right after she had apparently received
15:03an anonymous death threat.
15:05Sean was the owner
15:05of World Bodyguard Services,
15:07and on paper,
15:08he was a certified badass.
15:10He was a well-traveled espionage expert
15:12and counter-terrorism specialist.
15:14He knew how to manipulate people's psychology
15:16and sweep a room for bugs.
15:19Perhaps most incredibly,
15:20he'd worked for a Swiss security firm
15:22called the Blackstone Corp
15:24on top-secret missions
15:25to retrieve hostages
15:26when he was only 16 years old.
15:29With Sean,
15:30Jeff and Tonya felt safe,
15:32like they had their very own
15:33James Bond on their side.
15:35Of course,
15:36Sean didn't look like James Bond.
15:38He weighed in at over 300 pounds,
15:40about 136 kilos,
15:42and he ran his entire bodyguard operation
15:45from his parents' house.
15:46Jeff and Tonya
15:47never were able
15:48to verify Sean's claims
15:50on his resume.
15:51But still,
15:52Jeff trusted his childhood friend,
15:54and so he consulted with Sean
15:56in confidence
15:57about what they were planning.
15:59Sean was intrigued.
16:00He immediately agreed,
16:01and he quoted Jeff
16:02a cost of $4,500
16:04to do the hit.
16:06Jeff felt like
16:06that was too expensive,
16:08but after some back and forth,
16:09they agreed to a loose deal
16:11of $2,000 plus expenses
16:13if Jeff also agreed
16:15to keep Sean on payroll
16:16after the hit
16:17and to open doors
16:18for Sean to get more bodyguard work
16:20from other skaters
16:21that Tonya knew
16:22in the industry.
16:23Sean locked in
16:24and started reaching out
16:25to his secret network
16:27of underworld agents
16:28to perform the hit.
16:30Sean ended up recruiting
16:31one of his friends
16:32for the job,
16:33Derek Smith,
16:34a guy he knew
16:35from Arizona.
16:36The two of them
16:37had been planning
16:37to one day open
16:38an anti-terror
16:39security training camp,
16:41but of course
16:41they needed money
16:42to do that,
16:43so Derek agreed
16:44that this would be a step
16:46in the right direction.
16:47Derek didn't want
16:48to get his hands dirty himself,
16:49so he recruited
16:50his nephew,
16:51Shane Stant,
16:52to carry out the hit.
16:54But Derek was nervous
16:54about the whole thing,
16:56not about the actual hit.
16:57To him,
16:58it was just a job.
16:59He was nervous
17:00that they weren't going
17:01to get paid.
17:02Sean had already received
17:03$2,700
17:04to organise the hit,
17:06and even though
17:07Jeff had since
17:08promised him even more
17:09after the hit
17:10had been carried out,
17:11to Derek,
17:12that promise
17:13didn't feel like enough.
17:14So Derek came up
17:16with a strategy
17:16to protect themselves.
17:18He told Sean
17:19to bring a recording device
17:20to the meeting
17:21with Jeff.
17:21That way,
17:22they could use the tapes
17:23as leverage
17:24in case Jeff refused
17:25to pay or turned on them.
17:27Plus,
17:27if it all went well
17:28and Tonya were to become
17:29a worldwide sensation,
17:31they could also use
17:32the tapes as blackmail
17:33to get a bigger piece
17:34of the pie.
17:35A bigger piece
17:36of the pie
17:36sounded delicious
17:37to Sean,
17:38so he obliged.
17:40Sean hid the tape recorder
17:41under a paper towel
17:42on his desk,
17:43and he invited Jeff,
17:45Derek and Shane
17:46to his parents' house
17:47for a secret meeting
17:48in December of 1993
17:50to discuss the hit.
17:51It was during that meeting
17:52that they started planning
17:54how they would do it.
17:55Sean started pitching ideas.
17:57Maybe we could cut
17:58her Achilles tendon
17:59with an ice skate,
18:01Sean said.
18:01But Jeff and Derek
18:02quickly shot that idea down.
18:05How about we get
18:05an old car
18:06without license plates
18:07and we run her
18:08off the road?
18:09Sean followed up.
18:10But that idea
18:11was also disregarded
18:12by Jeff.
18:13Look,
18:13all we need to do
18:14is disable her right leg.
18:16That's the leg
18:17she lands on,
18:18Jeff said.
18:19Derek chimed in.
18:20Shane is an expert
18:21in martial arts.
18:22Maybe he could break
18:23her leg with a kick
18:24to the long bone.
18:25Jeff wasn't exactly sure
18:26what the long bone was,
18:28but that sounded
18:29like the best option.
18:30Maybe we could shoot her
18:31with a sniper rifle.
18:33Sean squealed excitedly.
18:35Jeff and Derek ignored him
18:36and they settled on the plan
18:37to break Nancy's right leg.
18:39Sean reluctantly agreed,
18:41but only if they could also
18:42leave a cryptic note
18:43at the scene,
18:44which he had already made earlier
18:45out of paper
18:46and letters cut out
18:47of various magazines.
18:49He handed the note to Derek,
18:50which read,
18:51All skating whores will die.
18:53No one can shut me off.
18:55Sean figured the note
18:57would cause panic
18:57in the skating world,
18:58creating a boon
19:00for his bodyguard services
19:01and he said that he could
19:02even hire Derek
19:03as one of his bodyguards.
19:05Derek took the note,
19:06the men agreed to the plot
19:07and they each went
19:08their separate ways.
19:11Shane Stant,
19:12Derek's nephew,
19:13had his marching orders
19:14and he started planning out
19:16the perfect opportunity.
19:17Over the next week,
19:18he received intel from Jeff
19:20about Nancy's location
19:21and he tried to track her down.
19:23He traveled interstate
19:24to the Tony Kent Arena
19:26in Massachusetts,
19:27where he heard she was training
19:28and he sat in the parking lot
19:30staking out the arena for days,
19:33cross-referencing a photo of Nancy
19:34which had been cut out
19:35of an ice skating magazine
19:37and given to him by Jeff.
19:39But as each day passed
19:40and there was no sign of Nancy,
19:43Shane started running out
19:44of patience and cash.
19:46So after four days of waiting,
19:48Shane decided to just walk
19:50straight into the arena
19:51and he started asking people
19:52whether they had seen her.
19:54Apparently, nobody had.
19:56The following day,
19:57he called the arena,
19:58telling the staff
19:59that he had a daughter
20:00who really wanted
20:01to see Nancy skate,
20:02which is when he was told
20:03that Nancy had already
20:05headed to Detroit
20:06to prepare for the US Nationals.
20:08So with that knowledge,
20:10Shane spent the last of his cash
20:11on a bus ticket to Detroit
20:13along with accommodation
20:14and he started scoping out
20:16the Detroit Kobo arena.
20:18Meanwhile, Jeff and Sean
20:19were starting to get anxious
20:21about the job.
20:22It should have happened by now.
20:24They started to feel
20:25like they'd been screwed over
20:26by Derek and Shane.
20:28And so in a desperate attempt
20:29to get the job done
20:30before the US Nationals,
20:32Jeff flashed a $10,000 check
20:34to Sean and asked him
20:36if a $10,000 bonus
20:38would motivate the guys
20:39to get the job done.
20:41And when word got to Derek
20:42about the potentially huge payday,
20:45he personally flew to Detroit
20:47to assist his nephew
20:48in making it happen.
20:49Derek met up with Shane
20:50on January 6th, 1994
20:53and they drove to the Kobo arena
20:55just before 11 a.m.
20:57Shane was fully decked out
20:58in a black leather jacket,
21:00black jeans, black gloves,
21:02brown hiking boots
21:03and a baseball hat.
21:04He had decided against
21:05the karate kick idea
21:07and his choice of weapon
21:08was a black collapsible
21:10tactical baton,
21:11which he kept
21:12in his belt.
21:13Then he and his uncle
21:14stole a license plate
21:15from a car
21:16that looked like
21:17their rental car.
21:18They put it over
21:18their rental's plate
21:19and Derek backed the car
21:21onto a nearby street.
21:23At the arena,
21:24Shane sat near the blue curtain
21:26where the skaters
21:26entered the ice
21:27and he waited for Nancy
21:29to step onto the rink.
21:30And sure enough,
21:3115 minutes later,
21:33there she was.
21:34Shane sat in the stands
21:35and he watched Nancy skate,
21:37keeping an eye out
21:38for video cameras
21:39so that he wouldn't
21:39be caught on tape.
21:41After her session,
21:42at about 2.35pm,
21:44Nancy left the ice.
21:46Shane stood up
21:47from his seat.
21:47Nancy was followed
21:49off the ice
21:49by an ABC cameraman
21:51and when the man
21:52put down his camera
21:53and turned away,
21:54Shane slipped
21:55right past him.
21:56Shane couldn't see
21:57any security personnel
21:58around and so he knew
22:00it was now or never.
22:01He crept up behind Nancy,
22:03pulled the baton
22:04from his belt
22:05with his right hand
22:06and he held
22:06Sean's insane note
22:08in his left hand.
22:09He swung his baton,
22:10viciously smashing it
22:11into Nancy's right leg
22:13and then he sprinted
22:14through the corridors.
22:15Nancy screamed in horror
22:16and Shane desperately
22:18tried to make his escape,
22:20still holding onto
22:20Sean's note,
22:21completely forgetting
22:22to leave it at the scene.
22:24However,
22:24when he got to the glass door,
22:26which he had planned
22:26to use as his exit,
22:28he realized that it was now
22:29locked up with a chain.
22:31He panicked
22:32and in his desperation
22:33to get away,
22:34he slammed his head
22:35straight through the window
22:36and face planted
22:37on the sidewalk.
22:38He picked himself back up
22:39and kept running.
22:40He ditched the baton
22:41under a parked car,
22:42Derek pulled over
22:43to the side of the road
22:44to pick him up
22:45and they made their getaway.
22:46As they looked
22:47in the rearview mirror,
22:48nobody was following them.
22:50In the days after,
22:51news about the incident
22:52traveled throughout
22:53the country
22:54and Nancy Kerrigan
22:55had to officially withdraw
22:56from competing
22:57at the US National Championships.
22:59Tonya Harding
23:00went on to win
23:01the US Nationals,
23:02securing her spot
23:03at the Olympics
23:04and so it seemed
23:05like everything
23:06had worked out
23:07as planned.
23:08While Nancy hustled
23:10to recover
23:10from her injury,
23:12people tried to make sense
23:13of what had happened.
23:14Police sketches
23:15of the suspects
23:16started to hit the media
23:17and as Jeff nervously
23:18watched from his TV
23:19at home,
23:20he couldn't help
23:21but laugh.
23:22The sketches looked
23:23nothing like Shane
23:24or Derek.
23:25He breathed
23:25a sigh of relief,
23:26convinced that they
23:27had actually
23:28gotten away with it.
23:29Of course,
23:30that was until
23:30he heard a knock
23:32at the door
23:33from the FBI.
23:35As the investigation
23:36unraveled
23:37and the FBI
23:37brought Jeff in
23:38for questioning,
23:39he was surprised
23:40by just how much
23:41they seemed to know
23:42about everything
23:43that had happened.
23:44It had only been
23:44a week since the attack
23:46and it was as if
23:47the FBI had been there
23:48in the room
23:49right next to them
23:50as they had concocted
23:51the conspiracy
23:52and Jeff eventually
23:53found out why.
23:55See,
23:55while Jeff,
23:56Derek and Shane
23:57had all been lying low
23:58since the attack,
24:00Sean Eckhart
24:00hadn't.
24:01In fact,
24:02on the contrary,
24:03Sean had been out
24:04bragging to just
24:05about everyone
24:06he knew
24:06that he had
24:07organised the hit
24:08and in doing so,
24:10he had changed
24:11the world.
24:12At the time,
24:13Sean was also
24:14studying a paralegal
24:15course,
24:16which he thought
24:16could help him
24:17with building
24:18his bodyguard
24:18enterprise
24:19and he even
24:20started bragging
24:21to his classmates
24:22in the course.
24:23At first,
24:24the other students
24:24thought he was
24:25talking nonsense.
24:26They'd heard him
24:27brag before
24:27about fanciful missions
24:29he'd supposedly
24:29undertaken with
24:30the CIA,
24:31FBI and
24:32counter-terrorism
24:33operations.
24:34But after being
24:34brushed off
24:35and called a liar,
24:37Sean started
24:37showing his
24:38classmates the
24:39tape that he
24:40had secretly
24:40recorded of the
24:41meeting at his
24:42parents' house.
24:43Far from being
24:44impressed by this,
24:46the students
24:46predictably
24:48alerted the FBI.
24:49And it was this
24:50tip that kicked
24:51off a whole bunch
24:52of confessions.
24:53On January 12th,
24:55just six days
24:56after the attack,
24:57the FBI
24:58questioned Sean.
24:59He broke
25:00pretty much
25:00immediately
25:01and he spilled
25:02the beans,
25:03pointing fingers
25:03at Jeff,
25:04Derek and Shane.
25:06On January 19th,
25:07Jeff turned himself
25:08into the FBI
25:09and he agreed
25:10to a plea deal
25:10to testify
25:11against Tonya Harding.
25:13While investigators
25:15continued their
25:15search for evidence,
25:17they sifted through
25:17the rubbish bin
25:18from a restaurant
25:19where Tonya
25:20and Jeff had met
25:21and they found
25:22a discarded envelope.
25:23On it was
25:24a handwritten note
25:25with the name
25:26and address
25:26of the Tony Kent Arena,
25:28Nancy Kerrigan's
25:29practice rink
25:30in Massachusetts.
25:32Handwriting experts
25:33eventually confirmed
25:34that it was
25:35Tonya Harding's
25:36handwriting.
25:37As the scandal
25:38continued to explode,
25:40Tonya's story
25:40kept changing.
25:42At first,
25:42she totally denied
25:43everything,
25:44but after a 10-hour-long
25:45interview with the FBI,
25:47she finally admitted
25:48that after she got back
25:49from the national championships,
25:51she found out
25:52about Jeff's involvement,
25:53but she didn't tell
25:54the police.
25:55According to interviews
25:56with Jeff and Sean,
25:57however,
25:58Tonya knew about
25:59the plan ahead of time
26:00and had actually been
26:01the one to give it
26:02a green light.
26:03The public and the media
26:04demanded that Tonya
26:06be dropped
26:06from the Olympic team
26:07for the role
26:08that she had allegedly
26:09played in Nancy's attack.
26:11And the U.S.
26:12Olympic Committee
26:12agreed,
26:13but when they tried
26:14to do so,
26:15Tonya filed
26:15a $20 million lawsuit
26:17against them
26:18for denying her
26:19due process.
26:20After all,
26:21she hadn't been convicted
26:22of doing anything wrong.
26:24Yet.
26:25So,
26:26despite the swirling
26:27criminal investigation
26:28and public outcry,
26:30Tonya Harding
26:30took one of the spots
26:31on the U.S.
26:32Olympic team
26:33and the other spot
26:34was given
26:35to Nancy Kerrigan.
26:36See,
26:37as it turns out,
26:38the injury Shane
26:39had inflicted on her
26:40was bad,
26:41but it hadn't taken her
26:42out of contention
26:43entirely.
26:44Her long bone,
26:46as Derek called it,
26:47was still intact.
26:48And the U.S.
26:49Olympic Committee
26:49offered Nancy
26:50the other spot
26:51if she still felt
26:52like she was capable
26:53of performing
26:54at a high level.
26:55And so,
26:55both women
26:56hopped on a plane
26:57and headed to
26:58Lillehammer
26:58for what would become
27:00the most intense
27:01Olympic showdown
27:02in U.S. history.
27:04The U.S.
27:05media leaned hard
27:06into the
27:06Tonya vs. Nancy
27:07rivalry,
27:08and TV anchors
27:09were pressured
27:10to sensationalize
27:11every single aspect
27:12of the story,
27:13framing their rivalry
27:14in a watered-down,
27:16easy-to-understand story
27:17of good versus bad.
27:19Tonya was portrayed
27:20as the evil,
27:21jealous trailer trash.
27:22On Nancy,
27:23with her expensive
27:24designer outfits
27:25and big endorsements,
27:26became the adored
27:27Ice Princess.
27:29The 1994
27:30Olympic
27:31Women's Figure Skating
27:32Competition
27:32was anticipated
27:33to be one of the
27:34highest-rated sports
27:36broadcasts
27:36in American
27:37television history.
27:38With viewership
27:39driven almost entirely
27:41by the real-life drama,
27:42reporters documented
27:44every glance
27:45and interaction
27:46between the two skaters.
27:47During their first
27:48practice session
27:49in Lillehammer,
27:50where they both
27:50shared the ice,
27:52Nancy Kerrigan
27:52even wore the exact
27:54same white-laced
27:55skating outfit
27:56that she had been
27:56wearing on the
27:57day of the attack,
27:58which was positioned
27:59by the media
27:59as a calculated,
28:01symbolic act
28:02of defiance,
28:03perhaps even
28:04a declaration
28:04of war.
28:05Though Nancy said
28:07it was just because
28:07she thought it would
28:08be funny.
28:09But despite all of
28:10the chaos around her,
28:11as the competition
28:12began,
28:13Nancy Kerrigan
28:14made it abundantly clear
28:15that the attack
28:16hadn't fazed her.
28:17Nancy pulled off
28:18one of the most
28:19impressive performances
28:20in the short program
28:21that she'd ever done.
28:23She headed into
28:23the final free skate
28:24program in first place
28:26and only seven weeks
28:28after the assault,
28:29in an incredibly close
28:305-4 split decision
28:31by the judges,
28:33she won the silver medal,
28:34narrowly missing out
28:35on gold
28:36to Oksana Bayul
28:37from Ukraine.
28:39However,
28:39Tonya Harding's
28:40Olympic performance,
28:41by contrast,
28:42was a complete meltdown.
28:44She struggled
28:44in the short program
28:45placing 10th
28:46and then during warm-ups
28:48for the free program,
28:49a lace on her right skate
28:50snapped.
28:51Her team scrambled
28:52to find a new one
28:53but it was too short
28:54so her boot
28:55wasn't secure
28:56on her foot.
28:57She hit the ice late,
28:58started her routine
28:59but then messed up
29:00her first jump.
29:01In a chaotic scene,
29:03she then skated over
29:04to the judges,
29:05cried,
29:05and showed them
29:06the loose lace
29:07and begged for a redo.
29:09The judges agreed,
29:10letting her skate again
29:11at the end of the group.
29:12But even with a second shot,
29:14she was clearly rattled
29:15and she ended up
29:16a distant 8th place overall
29:18and the media
29:19and public
29:20all over America
29:21celebrated her meltdown
29:23and her ultimate failure.
29:27After Tonya arrived back home,
29:29in the weeks and months
29:30following the Lillehammer Olympics,
29:32the full legal
29:33and professional consequences
29:34of the attack
29:35came down on everyone
29:36involved in the conspiracy.
29:38On March 16th, 1994,
29:40Tonya Harding appeared
29:42in a Portland courtroom
29:43and accepted a plea bargain
29:45to avoid a trial
29:46and the risk of prison time.
29:48She pleaded guilty
29:49to a single charge.
29:50Conspiracy to hinder
29:51the prosecution
29:52of Nancy Kerrigan's attackers,
29:54a Class C felony.
29:56The plea acknowledged
29:57that she had learned
29:58of the plot
29:58after the fact
29:59and had failed
30:00to report it
30:01to authorities.
30:02She was sentenced
30:02to three years of probation,
30:04ordered to perform
30:05500 hours of community service
30:07and assessed a total
30:09of $160,000
30:10in fines and fees,
30:12which included
30:13a $100,000 fine
30:15to the state,
30:16a $50,000 mandatory donation
30:18to the Special Olympics
30:19and $10,000
30:20to reimburse the county
30:22for legal costs.
30:23An immediate condition
30:24of the plea
30:25was that she resign
30:26from the USFSA,
30:28the United States
30:29Figure Skating Association.
30:31The four men involved
30:32in the plot
30:32all received prison sentences.
30:34Jeff Galooly
30:35and Sean Eckhart
30:36pleaded guilty
30:37to the more serious
30:38federal charge
30:39of racketeering.
30:40Jeff was sentenced
30:41to two years
30:42in federal prison
30:43and fined $100,000
30:44while Sean was given
30:46a prison sentence
30:47of 18 months.
30:48The hitman,
30:49Shane Stant,
30:49and his uncle,
30:50the getaway driver,
30:51Derek Smith,
30:52pleaded guilty
30:53to conspiracy
30:53to commit
30:54second-degree assault
30:55and they were also
30:56both sentenced
30:57to 18 months in prison.
30:59By the end of 1995,
31:01all four men
31:02had served their time
31:03and had been released.
31:04But while Tonya Harding's
31:06plea deal
31:06kept her out of prison,
31:08her career
31:08was far from safe.
31:10The USFSA
31:11conducted their own
31:12internal investigation
31:13and on June 30th
31:14of 1994,
31:16the panel released
31:17its findings,
31:18concluding that
31:19the evidence
31:19they discovered
31:20showed that Tonya
31:21had prior knowledge
31:23and was involved
31:24prior to the incident.
31:25And so,
31:26they handed down
31:27what essentially
31:28amounted to a sports
31:29death penalty.
31:30The USFSA
31:32formally stripped
31:33Tonya of her
31:341994 US Championship
31:36title,
31:36and they banned her
31:37for life
31:38from participating
31:39in any USFSA-sanctioned
31:41event,
31:42either as a skater
31:43or a coach.
31:45This decision
31:45effectively entered
31:46Tonya's career.
31:48Without a membership
31:48in the national
31:49governing body,
31:50she couldn't compete
31:51in eligible competitions.
31:53Nor could she skate
31:54in the lucrative
31:55professional shows
31:56and tours
31:56that were the primary
31:58source of income
31:58for skaters who had
32:00participated in the
32:01Olympics.
32:01This punishment
32:02ended up being far
32:03more impactful
32:04and long-lasting
32:05than what the court
32:06had decided.
32:07While the legal system
32:08offered a chance to
32:09get back on track
32:10after probation,
32:11the USFSA's ban
32:13essentially permanently
32:14erased her from the
32:15world that she had
32:16poured her whole life
32:17into.
32:18In the aftermath of
32:20Lilyhammer,
32:20Nancy Kerrigan
32:21gracefully transitioned
32:22from competitive skating
32:24to a lucrative
32:25professional career.
32:26She signed
32:27multi-million dollar
32:28endorsement deals,
32:29including a huge one
32:30with Walt Disney World,
32:31and she became
32:32a headline star
32:33in ice shows
32:34like Champions on Ice.
32:36She ended up
32:36marrying her agent,
32:37Jerry Solomon,
32:38in 1995,
32:39and after a difficult
32:41struggle that included
32:42six miscarriages,
32:43she raised three children.
32:45But Tonya Harding's
32:47path was starkly
32:48different.
32:49After being banned
32:50from the only profession
32:51she had ever known,
32:52she became a cultural
32:54outcast,
32:55her name practically
32:56a synonym for
32:57cheating and scandal.
32:58She went through
32:59a series of public
33:00struggles and attempts
33:01to cash in on her
33:02notoriety.
33:03She managed
33:04professional wrestlers,
33:05tried her hand at
33:06boxing,
33:06and she popped up
33:07on various reality
33:08TV shows.
33:09For ages,
33:10the name Tonya Harding
33:11was a punchline,
33:13mentioned by late-night
33:14hosts and even
33:15Barack Obama as
33:16shorthand for
33:17taking out a
33:18competitor.
33:19She had become
33:19completely trapped
33:21in infamy,
33:21totally unable to
33:23escape the shadow
33:24of the worst series
33:25of decisions of
33:26her life.
33:27And they didn't
33:27even feel like
33:28her decisions.
33:29For the most part,
33:30it was just something
33:31she nodded along to
33:32while letting her
33:33abusive,
33:34on-again,
33:35off-again
33:35ex-husband
33:36take the reins.
33:39But in 2015,
33:41the understanding
33:42of everything
33:42that had happened
33:43started to shift
33:45when Tonya was
33:46approached by a
33:46screenwriter,
33:47Stephen Rogers,
33:48who had become
33:49interested in her
33:50story.
33:50Stephen was
33:51fascinated by
33:52interviews he'd
33:53seen where Tonya
33:54appeared to see
33:55herself as the
33:56victim in the
33:56story.
33:57For someone who
33:58had been so
33:58clearly connected
33:59to the attack,
34:00it seemed odd
34:01that Tonya could
34:02have such a vastly
34:03different understanding
34:04of everything that
34:05had transpired.
34:06And so,
34:07Stephen started
34:08writing a script
34:08to capture this
34:09seemingly bizarre
34:10contradiction.
34:11And when he
34:12reached out to
34:12Tonya and Jeff
34:13themselves for
34:14interviews,
34:15he started seeing
34:16with increasingly
34:16more and more
34:17clarity what the
34:18existing narrative
34:19around the story
34:20hadn't shown.
34:21Stephen started
34:22seeing the nuance
34:23behind what had
34:24for years been
34:25overlooked and
34:26misunderstood.
34:27And so,
34:28in 2017,
34:29the movie
34:29I, Tonya came
34:31out and totally
34:32shifted how most
34:33people saw Tonya.
34:34The film with
34:35Margot Robbie
34:36playing Tonya
34:37Harding was a
34:37dark, funny
34:38mockumentary that
34:40told the story from
34:41a bunch of
34:41different, sometimes
34:42conflicting angles.
34:44It didn't say
34:44Tonya was innocent,
34:46but it did put her
34:47story into perspective,
34:49showing how the
34:49crime fit into a
34:50life punctuated by
34:52poverty, class
34:53discrimination in her
34:54sport, and constant
34:55physical and emotional
34:56abuse from her mum
34:58and husband.
34:59The movie arrived at
35:00just the right time.
35:01Society was starting
35:02to have a much better
35:03grasp of domestic
35:04violence, trauma, and
35:06the power dynamics
35:06of abuse.
35:07Plus, people were
35:08starting to get
35:09increasingly distrustful
35:11of mainstream media,
35:12which made them more
35:13open to questioning
35:14the clear-cut narrative
35:16from 1994.
35:17The film was a
35:18huge success, earning
35:20over $50 million
35:21off a budget of
35:22just $11 million.
35:23But Tonya didn't
35:24make much money
35:25from the film.
35:26She was only paid
35:27a one-off sum of
35:28about $15,000 for
35:30her image rights
35:31and story.
35:32However, the value
35:33for Tonya came with
35:34how the new lens
35:35on her story
35:36affected her
35:37reputation.
35:38Suddenly, Tonya
35:39Harding wasn't just
35:40a bad guy.
35:41A lot of people
35:42started seeing her
35:43for what she was.
35:44A complicated,
35:45deeply flawed,
35:46but also really
35:47sympathetic figure.
35:49The facts of the
35:49case hadn't changed,
35:51but how society
35:52understood them
35:52had shifted a lot.
35:54And with this shift
35:55came new opportunities
35:57once again.
35:58Tonya started doing
35:59national skating
36:00appearances again.
36:01Not in competition,
36:02but as a guest skater
36:03at small events.
36:04She also became
36:05a motivational speaker
36:06and occasional podcast
36:08guest, talking about
36:09resilience and
36:10surviving public shame.
36:11Today, Tonya lives
36:13a quiet life with
36:14her loving husband
36:15Joseph Price and
36:16their son, Gordon.
36:17When she was asked
36:18about whether she
36:19would try and
36:19encourage Gordon to
36:20become a world-renowned
36:21athlete like her,
36:23she laughed,
36:25saying that it didn't
36:26matter to her in the
36:27slightest.
36:28Rather, she wants to
36:29raise her son outside
36:31the spotlight and to
36:32focus first and foremost
36:34on what she's learned
36:35is actually important
36:36to Gordon's success
36:37and what he chooses
36:39to do in life.
36:39having a good mother.
36:42Having a good mother.
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