Up
to the moment of impact, Nancy Kerrigan was truly an innocent victim. And when juicy reports squealed that her
rival's entourage was involved, I joined the dutiful majority in praising
Well,
yes and no.
Watching
her endless "no comments" during the build up to the finals, I came
to feel that, contrary to popular image, she displayed neither dignity nor
distance. She could have challenged the
media frenzy, but chose not to.
Imagine
her making something like the following press statement in
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"Tonya Harding represents no more
or less of a threat to me, and has no more claim on my attention than the two
dozen other skaters who are competing for the Gold. Tonya and I have never been friends and I
don't expect that to change, regardless of the outcome of the legal
proceedings in the coming months.
The
issue, of course, is whether or not she had advance knowledge of the
attack. I do not have any special insight
into that, nor do I have the luxury to speculate. I was a victim, not a witness.
I
don't blame you in the media for thinking and writing about it. To an outsider, it's naughty fun. It's your job, and you do it well.
My
job is to skate.
I
can say this about Tonya, based on what I read in the papers and see on
TV: She has not had a simple or pleasant
life. I feel sorry for her, as I feel
sorry for Oksana Baiul, who had an even bumpier road. Many high level performers have buried
sorrow.
I
simply cannot know if I am angry at her.
If she is guilty of planning this attack, then I both feel sorry for her
and want to see her severely punished.
If she found out about it after the fact, then she is a victim
herself. In either case, she clearly has
not had the fortune, judgement or inner strength to surround herself with
trustworthy, decent people. She is not
the only women in this situation.
Again,
I have no knowledge, and at this point, no interest in whether she was
complicit. That is a legal question
which others will decide in due course.
My
faith and tranquility were attacked; threatened. But at least I had a store of them to begin
with.
I
hope I win a Gold Metal. I hope that if
Tonya is innocent she wins a Silver Metal.
We are here to skate.
Watch
us skate."
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Imagine
the wet blanket that would have thrown on those of us whose only
interest was voyeuristic. But
She
kept it personal. She kept it interesting.
She
is, in her way, as down and dirty as Tonya.
She
really is a class, act.