The Attack On Ice Skater Nancy Kerrigan
dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock PhotoTonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, shortly after Kerrigan was attacked.
Many of the 1990s scandals on this list so far have involved sex. But the next one is all about competition — and the lengths someone might go to win.
In the early 1990s, two ice skaters — Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan — developed a rivalry. And in 1994, they entered the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where they could qualify for the Winter Olympics.
But on January 6, 1994, Kerrigan was attacked while leaving practice at the Cobo Arena in Detroit. A man struck her with a club in the back of the knee, injuring her badly enough that she had to pull out of the championship.
Soon afterward, Harding won that same championship — and she also won a place on the U.S. Olympic skating team.
Though the attack on Kerrigan initially seemed random, investigators soon discovered that it was anything but. It had been plotted by Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, who had worked with Harding’s bodyguard Shawn Eckardt to hire two “hitmen”: Derrick Smith and Shane Stant.
Harding denied any involvement in the attack, and both she and Kerrigan eventually skated at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. Harding got eighth place after having problems with her laces; Kerrigan won silver.
RedditTonya Harding showing the judges her problems with her laces during the Olympics.
In March 1994, Harding pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to hinder prosecution,” essentially meaning she was aware of who committed the crime after it happened, but she failed to report it. Though Harding ultimately avoided serving jail time, the U.S. Figure Skating Association made the decision to revoke her national championship title and banned her for life.
