Tonya Harding admits that she knew of plan to attack Nancy Kerrigan

Author: Kevin Skiver / CBS News
Published:
MGN

For 24 years, Tonya Harding has adamantly denied that she knew anything of a plan to injure figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan on Jan. 6, 1994. However, in a special called “Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story” on ABC, Harding finally confessed that that wasn’t exactly the case.

In the special, which aired Thursday night, Harding confessed that she had an inkling of the plan between her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and his friend, Shawn Eckardt, to attack Kerrigan prior to the 1994 Olympics.

Although Harding continued her claims that she had no part in the planning itself, she said that shortly after the incident she connected the dots as to whom was behind it. She said that she overheard the co-conspirators discussing “taking someone out” to get Harding a spot on the team before the attack happened.

Of Gillooly and Eckardt’s involvement, Harding said “it popped in my head two or three days after we got back [that Gillooly and Eckardt were behind the attack]” in the special.

When Kerrigan was asked if the Cobo Arena attack in Detroit is where her popularity came from, she took issue with the implication.

“I have two Olympics medals,” she said. “They didn’t just give them to me. I worked hard for it. Who in their right mind would ask to be attacked? I would never wish that on anyone. If I could change that, would I? Of course I would.”

However, Harding said that she won’t be apologizing any more for the incident.

“Enough apologizing,” Harding said. “She has her life. I have my life. We both have wonderful lives. That should be all that matters.”

The special comes in the wake of the movie “I, Tonya” which has received critical acclaim for Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harding and Allison Janney’s playing of Harding’s mother, LaVona Golden.

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