Tonya Harding Research Paper

Tonya Harding’s Innocence The events that took place on January 6, 1994 changed many people’s lives. That was the day that Nancy Kerrigan took a metal baton to the knee. This attack occurred at the U. S. Nationals, in Detroit, as Nancy Kerrigan left the practice ice rink. A man was waiting for her and powerfully struck her on the right knee, this caused severe bruising and tearing. The damage was severe that Nancy had to drop out of competition (Roch). Because Tonya Harding had something to gain, the media and the police tried to implicate her in an attack that she knew nothing about. The person guilty of wielding the metal baton was Stan Stant. He was in cahoots with Jeff Gillooly, Tonya’s ex-husband; Shawn Eckardt, Tonya’s

In the first place, she married Jeff Gillooly at a young age. After the bumpy marriage became abusive, both verbally and physically, she left Jeff (Roch). She was pressured, by the U. S. Figure Skating Association, to return to her husband (Roch). But Tonya does what Tonya wants to do and she had enough, so she filed for divorce. That is when someone “high up” in the Association told her that if she was not with him, she would not get the scores that she deserves because she would not be the “picture perfect” skater (Roch). Judges have an ideal of what they expect, in other aspects of the skater’s lives. The skaters are also judged on their costumes, whether their ice skates are polished, the way they wear their hair and anything else that the judges decide to ask. Tonya is guilty of being strong minded and did not give in to the pressure. The next competition she placed third, even though she didn’t make any mistakes (Roch). This was not fair to Tonya, she should not have to stay in such a relationship for appearances. She should be judged on how well she skates, not if she has the perfect