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Tonya Harding interview during Nancy Kerrigan controversy - Eye To Eye with Connie Chung 2/10/94 — Transcript

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0:00to February 10 1994 episode of eye to
0:04eye with Connie Chung
0:07not me not eye to eye with Ken Dixon
0:10that's different
0:12featured Tanya Harding
0:15who is right in the midst of the whole
0:17Nancy Kerrigan attack controversy
0:21as it turned out her husband had
0:22contracted a Hitman to go into smash her
0:27knee did it at Kobo Arena and uh
0:31it was a great drama I mean they ended
0:34up on the Olympics and competed with
0:37each other and ignoring each other and
0:40you know Tanya of course was like not
0:43your typical skater chick you know she
0:46wasn't a preppy little girl she was more
0:49from the trailer park side of Portland
0:52which if you've ever been to Portland oh
0:55my goodness
0:57so check out this cool cool cool bit of
1:00TV history
1:01it's even referenced on Wikipedia But
1:04the Link's broken because I posted it
1:06without an intro so here's an intro for
1:08you people an interesting intro eye to
1:12eye
1:13an eye to eye intro the i in intro There
1:17You Go YouTube
1:18[Music]
1:20hi I'm Connie Chun tonight on eye to eye
1:25I'm gonna go out with a bang
1:27the interview America has been waiting
1:29for Tanya Harding breaks her silence an
1:32eye to eye Network exclusive
1:35why didn't you go to authorities
1:36immediately because I was afraid afraid
1:39of what being hurt by whom people
1:44tonight an emotional heartache talks
1:47about her role in the skating Scandal
1:49and about the man who turned on her
1:51ex-husband Jeff kaluli thanks for No One
2:01if I ever did anything it was to stick
2:03up for him and protect him
2:08and we'll take you to little Homer where
2:11the next chapter in the drama is about
2:12to unfold
2:15[Applause]
2:18also outrage at West Point how did white
2:21Cadets look at Johnson Whitaker oh they
2:24they thought he had absolutely no
2:26business being there uppity uppity a
2:28former slave tortured then drummed out
2:31of the core for the crime of being black
2:34three masked people are in the room and
2:37they say that if you don't leave we are
2:40going to kill you now more than a
2:42hundred years later a remarkable family
2:44may see Justice Done what has what
2:47happened to your grandfather done to
2:49your family
2:50[Music]
2:52those stories in
2:55more
2:55[Music]
3:04[Music]
3:05correspondence Bernard Goldberg
3:09Magnus Russ Mitchell
3:13Roberta Baskin
3:15and Bill lagatuda
3:17[Music]
3:23good evening never have the words
3:25Olympic hopeful had more meaning than in
3:28the case of Tanya Harding in Portland a
3:30court will hold a hearing tomorrow on
3:32Harding's appeal for a temporary
3:34restraining order to postpone Tuesday's
3:37U.S Olympic Committee hearing in Oslo
3:39that hearing could lead to her expulsion
3:41from the Winter Games Harding also filed
3:44a 20 million lawsuit against the
3:46committee tonight Tonya Harding comes
3:49forward for an exclusive Network
3:51interview
3:52because she is under investigation by
3:54Olympic and skating officials as well as
3:56authorities in Portland Harding's
3:58lawyers advised her not to discuss
4:00certain details of the case and now
4:02you'll see a Tanya Harding you've never
4:05seen before
4:06I like myself you do it you like
4:08yourself yeah I do well I think that
4:11people like it that I have an open mind
4:13and that I'll tell them what I feel of
4:16course there's always the other side
4:17that you can be a little too blunt
4:20yes but isn't it always better to tell
4:21the truth
4:23you guys aren't allowed in the store
4:25we're sorry okay thanks the truth is
4:27what everyone wants to hear from Tonya
4:29Harding can you say that's just not true
4:32those are lies
4:35are you still planning on going to the
4:37Olympics
4:38still want to represent my country
4:41it may seem as if her life is spinning
4:44out of control
4:46but this blue-collar kid didn't get to
4:49be a world-class skater by giving up or
4:51changing who she is I'm my own person
4:54you guys will you go away please
4:58I may not go to
5:00the Opera and and go to expensive
5:04dinners all the time you know I like to
5:08go four-wheeling I like to go bowling I
5:10like to shoot pool
5:12I like to do those kind of things
5:14and I don't think it makes me a bad
5:16person because I have a lot of hobbies
5:18so how are you doing I mean you know in
5:21terms of
5:23yeah yeah okay
5:25the past month hasn't been easy she may
5:28be the national champ but according to a
5:30CBS News poll most of the public thinks
5:33she is lying she's in the fight of her
5:36life
5:37people who know you say you actually
5:38skate better under adversity when your
5:41life is going smoothly you don't skate
5:43as well when your life is a wreck you do
5:46I do skate better under pressure I like
5:49being the underdog I like it when nobody
5:51expects me to do anything and then I can
5:54come out and I can just walk away with
5:55it
6:01[Music]
6:04when I hit the ice it's my getaway
6:08[Music]
6:11are you guilty of the allegations as
6:14stated by your attorney I am there is no
6:18escaping the reality her ex-husband Jeff
6:20gillooly pleading guilty in the plot to
6:23attack Nancy Kerrigan
6:27telling investigators that Tonya Harding
6:29not only knew about the attack but gave
6:31the final okay whatever happens in court
6:35in our interview Harding began laying
6:37the groundwork for her defense to the
6:39public her version of the battered woman
6:41syndrome how did Jeff treat you
6:47is it true that he threatened to break
6:49your legs and end your career though
6:51said he'd break my legs so I couldn't do
6:54anything so I couldn't make money so I
6:56couldn't have my career my dream
6:58why would he do that why would he say
7:00something like that
7:03I adopted if somebody loved me they
7:05wouldn't say stuff like that
7:12today says he still loves you
7:15do you still love him
7:19why not
7:21because if somebody loved me they
7:24wouldn't do this to me
7:27meaning what has he done to you
7:37you in the Nancy Kerrigan attack
7:40serious
7:42detailed charges
7:45both what Jeff and Sean say is not true
7:49but he knows me knows it's not true does
7:52it hurt
7:53I just want to know why
7:57I never did anything to hurt him
8:00you didn't if I ever did anything it was
8:02to stick up for him and protect him
8:06and he does this to me
8:20it was just a few weeks ago that Tanya
8:23and Jeff were dealing with this together
8:24a familiar pattern in their on-again
8:26off-again marriage over the years Tanya
8:29has filed police reports charging Jeff
8:31with abuse and harassment but she later
8:34retracted her complaints
8:36then why did you stick with him
8:40because I thought it was the right thing
8:42to do how could you think it was the
8:43right thing to do if he was beating you
8:46and abusing you
8:48I thought I must have been doing
8:50something wrong
8:52and so I'd try even harder to be good
8:54you know to be nice
8:56ask permission to go places ask
8:58permission to spend money everyone says
9:01your independent strong-minded you say
9:04what you feel but didn't you fight back
9:06I tried once
9:09and it didn't work
9:11what happened
9:12I got beat up
9:15I have to call the police
9:17I had to call my friends to come and get
9:18me and see me like that
9:21but what her friends and family can't
9:23understand is why she kept going back I
9:27think for all the Skeptics who felt
9:29Tanya's Peak had passed I think she's
9:31proved she's still he's going to have
9:33the image that the figure skating people
9:35wanted me to have
9:38so I try really hard
9:41and that's one of the reasons why I went
9:42back because they always thought that it
9:44was it was stable when I was with him
9:49try and see me as a stable person
9:54but I'm not I'm more stable when I'm not
9:57with him
9:59I can skate
10:01[Music]
10:15but in the end what may keep Tanya
10:17Harding off the ice are her own words
10:19days after the attack
10:21I didn't do anything
10:30for sure anything about what's going on
10:31at all she later contradicted with her
10:35own damaging admission I am responsible
10:38however
10:40for failing
10:43for failing to report things
10:46I learned about the assault when I
10:48returned home from Nationals
10:51did you have prior knowledge of the
10:53planned attack on Nancy Kerrigan
10:56absolutely not absolutely not I know you
11:00can't discuss the facts of the case but
11:01in your statement that you read to
11:02reporters you said I learned that some
11:04persons close to me were involved in the
11:06assault yes why didn't you go to
11:09authorities immediately everything just
11:12happened so fast
11:13I just boom everything and I was like I
11:18was scared
11:19afraid of what
11:21being hurt by whom people
11:25can you say who no and now the moment
11:29we've all been waiting for
11:33please welcome back to the ice Miss
11:37Nancy Kerrigan
11:42if the attack was meant to eliminate the
11:45competition it backfired turning Nancy
11:48Kerrigan into a hero endorsements movie
11:50deals and the cheers of America
11:57Nancy Kerrigan has this image of being a
12:00darling princess and you have this image
12:04perhaps clearly from the media of being
12:06a bad girl
12:08how does that make you feel
12:10everybody has their
12:11[Music]
12:19therapy do you think you have tried hard
12:21enough to express to Nancy Kerrigan
12:24how you feel about this incident I feel
12:27really sorry
12:28I really do
12:31um I even wrote her a small letter and I
12:34don't know if she received it or not but
12:36I tried to say I was sorry
12:39if this all happened
12:41do you think it got through to her
12:43I don't know have you heard back from
12:45Nancy Kerrigan
12:47you may very well be practicing with
12:50Nancy Kerrigan on the ice is it going to
12:52be awkward
12:54I don't know the first time you see her
12:56do you think you're going to be nervous
12:58probably
13:02she's going to be your teammate at the
13:05Olympics
13:06and that makes it difficult don't you
13:09think
13:10I don't know
13:19today parting remains a member of the
13:21team but competing in the games is still
13:24a big question her 20 million dollar
13:26lawsuit against the U.S Olympic
13:28Committee is a strong signal of her
13:30determination to skate in lilahummer
13:36[Music]
13:41why do you believe you should be allowed
13:44to skate at the Olympics
13:46because I've worked 20 years for it
13:49I mean it's my dream
13:53and I think I deserved it
13:56I mean I went to Nationals and I I won
13:59and it looks like that's the case
14:02Tanya Harding has delivered her
14:04challenge you said in your statement I
14:06have done nothing to violate the
14:08standards of excellence and
14:09sportsmanship that are expected in an
14:11Olympic Athlete I said what I believe
14:15what I believe to be true
14:19I just go out and do the best that I can
14:22do the best that anyone expects me to do
14:26if I'm not perfect doesn't mean that you
14:30know I did something wrong
14:32what would you do if you can't skate at
14:34this Olympics
14:36I don't know
14:38cry
14:41in just a few moments Tanya Harding
14:43talks about what she'll do if her
14:45Olympic dream does come true
14:47have you thought about the possibility
14:49that if you go out and skid
14:51at the Olympics that you might even be
14:53booed
14:54because of this still breaking story
14:56we're going to postpone our report on
14:59the highly controversial treatment
15:00program for severely disabled children
15:02that we had scheduled for this evening
15:04we will bring it to you when we return
15:06after the Olympics but coming up the
15:09making of Tanya Harding a superstar on
15:12the edge most of my life she always told
15:15me I skated like crap and I think that
15:17that had a lot to do with
15:18the hate relationship that I had for her
15:22also emotions run high but is there
15:25enough hard evidence to indict Tonya
15:28Hardy
15:34an Olympic panel is judging Tanya
15:36Harding's ethics but the law will judge
15:39her innocence in the midst of
15:41allegations and rumors fueling this
15:43bizarre Scandal there's also the search
15:45for hard evidence
15:47Tanya Harding has admitted she failed to
15:49report what she found out about the
15:51attack after the fact but is there proof
15:54that she was actually in on it CBS News
15:57correspondent John Blackstone has been
15:58covering the story in Portland John
16:01Connie the criminal case that's been
16:03unfolding in this Portland courtroom is
16:05temporarily being overshadowed by all
16:07the other urgent legal maneuvering but
16:09it's here the big questions will
16:10ultimately be answered will Tonya
16:13Harding be charged and if she is will
16:15she be found guilty but after a month of
16:17Investigation arrests and confessions
16:19there remains a distinct lack of
16:22evidence actually linking Harding to the
16:24attack on Nancy Kerrigan and as
16:26incredible as it may sound what may be
16:28the most significant evidence yet was
16:30turned up by a woman named Kathy
16:31Peterson in the garbage behind her
16:34restaurant
16:35as I was going to one of the bags I
16:37found this envelope with the name of
16:38Jeff gillooly on it and so of course the
16:40piqued my curiosity and I went digging a
16:42little farther so far the most
16:44tantalizing exhibit against Harding is
16:47also the strangest I call the FBI with
16:49the things that I found and gave them
16:51the original things that I'd found
16:52behind Kathy Peterson's Dockside
16:55Restaurant some scribbled notes found in
16:57the garbage could be the Smoking Gun if
17:00this is Tonya Harding's handwriting the
17:03names and numbers found in the trash
17:05seem to support claims that Harding
17:07collected information about the Tony
17:08Kent Arena on Cape Cod where Kerrigan
17:11trains but prosecutor Norm Frank isn't
17:14boasting he's cracked the case well I
17:17mean I think it's a public record that
17:19there's been this envelope discovered
17:21and uh that it's been turned over to the
17:25authorities along with some other uh
17:27with some other material that was found
17:30but we can't comment on it beyond that
17:32but what a discovery Kathy Peterson was
17:35simply trying to catch the people
17:37dumping their trash in her dumpster
17:40so when I find bags that didn't come
17:41from my place I go through them looking
17:43for a name or number of someone to
17:44contact to let them know that you know
17:46this can't be done you can't be good put
17:48in your trash in other people's
17:49dumpsters if the notes are genuine their
17:51Discovery would seem to set some sort of
17:53new standard for either criminal
17:54stupidity or bad luck but then this case
17:58is littered with improbable characters
18:00and surprising Revelations
18:03[Applause]
18:05Sean Eckert the man who dreamed of being
18:08a bodyguard to the Stars saw Harding as
18:11his route to prominence but Eckerd seems
18:13to have told almost everybody he knew
18:15about the plot to injure Kerrigan
18:19and once arrested he told the FBI
18:22Harding helped get information about
18:24Kerrigan's practice schedule
18:26but detective Jerry spiers has his
18:29doubts
18:30the guy distorts reality I think he was
18:33a local local kid who wanted to be big
18:37time the trail from Eckert quickly led
18:40to Hitman Shane Stan and to the man who
18:43drove the getaway car Derek Smith but
18:46both of them have told the FBI as far as
18:49they know Harding was not involved
18:52so in what has become a game of who do
18:55you trust to believe Tanya Harding is
18:57guilty you have to trust Jeff gillooly
19:00his 17-hour talk with the FBI contains
19:03the most damning charges against Harding
19:05that she led the Hitman to Kerrigan
19:08gillooly's attorney Ron hovet says phone
19:11records support that afternoon Tanya
19:14called the Tony canarina from her home
19:16to determine Nancy Kerrigan's practice
19:19schedule that sounds a lot like the
19:21scribbled notes Kathy Peterson found in
19:24her dumpster but much of the evidence
19:26gillooly has provided is impossible to
19:28verify he claims that as he and Harding
19:31were driving past this freeway
19:33intersection on December 28th she
19:36approved the attack on Kerrigan saying
19:38let's do it
19:40in court this week prosecutors put the
19:43case on hold until Harding gets back
19:45from the Olympics that would seem to
19:47suggest that you don't really have the
19:48goods on her I you know we're not going
19:51to characterize the state of the
19:52evidence or or anything like that and uh
19:56it uh I think a lot of people have drawn
19:59a lot of erroneous conclusions from a
20:01lot of things in this whole affair
20:04Luli who pleaded guilty in this
20:06courtroom seems determined not only to
20:08see his former wife prosecuted but to
20:10end her Olympic career he quickly
20:12offered to go to Norway to testify
20:14against Hardy before the Olympic
20:16Committee but with all the other legal
20:17Maneuvers now going on the Olympic
20:20Committee seems less than anxious to
20:21talk to gillooly Connie thank you John
20:24Blackstone her skating may look Flawless
20:27but Tanya Harding has already taken
20:29enough personal spills to last a
20:31lifetime at 23 she has split several
20:34times from her ex-husband Jeff gillooly
20:37her relationship with her mother who has
20:39had five husbands has been just as
20:41tempestuous tonight as we go eye to eye
20:44with Tanya Harding the skater looks
20:46ahead to the Olympics and back at the
20:49road that has brought her so close
20:51knowing that there's some really good
20:53skaters who are going to be at the
20:55Olympics what's going through your head
20:57I think I have a little bit of an edge
20:58over them because I've already been to
21:01an Olympics
21:02I know what to expect
21:0420 years in the skating business it's a
21:08long time
21:14Tanya Harding says it will be her final
21:17appearance as an amateur if you are
21:19allowed to skate at the Olympics do you
21:21think that you'll be judged fairly
21:23that's all I want
21:24I just want to go to Olympics and be
21:26able to skate and be you know treated
21:29fairly be judged fairly have you thought
21:32about the possibility that if you go out
21:34and skate
21:36on the ice at the Olympics that you
21:37might even be booed no I don't even
21:40think about that
21:42the most important thing to me is just
21:44going and being able to skate and follow
21:46through with my dream it's a dream that
21:48began years ago Tanya Harding was
21:51different and she knew it Tanya do you
21:54remember the first time you put on a
21:55pair of skates my parents and I were at
21:57Lloyd Center and it's a mall and we were
21:59shopping and I was three years old and I
22:03looked over and was watching the kids
22:05skate and I said I wanted to do that and
22:08they said no no you can't do that so I
22:10just started bawling my eyes out and
22:12finally they they kind of let in and
22:14said okay and I used to kick the ice and
22:16stuff like that so I could eat it but it
22:20was pretty cool I really liked it and I
22:22told my mom and dad that I wanted to do
22:24it again and they thought you know when
22:26you're three years old you don't know
22:27what you want and but you know here I am
22:29today 20 years later where do you get
22:32that drive and that determination to be
22:36challenged if somebody says you can't do
22:38it then you say I'm gonna knock it out
22:40of the ballpark watch me that's just me
22:43I'm very motivated by people who tell me
22:47I can't do something all my life people
22:49have never believed in me
22:51every time I'd get her off the Rings and
22:53stick her tongue out at me and say I'm
22:55not coming off her mother Sandy golden
22:57knew it too and talked to us about it
22:59there was a few times I had to get
23:01rental skates go out on the ice get her
23:04off of the ice so that I could go to
23:05home and go to work life was not really
23:08easy growing up I didn't have a lot of
23:10money
23:11um
23:12my parents and I we used to go around
23:15and pick up bottles and cans to help pay
23:18for ice time and stuff like that
23:19sometimes She chased cans of bottles up
23:21and down the roads
23:23between Portland and Estacada
23:28so she worked hard for her
23:30what she got
23:32and I think she deserved every bit of it
23:34Al Harding says his daughter was
23:36determined to succeed determined even
23:39though there was practically no money
23:40did you feel badly about that when you
23:43were growing up and different I felt
23:46different I didn't have very many
23:48friends I maybe had one friend
23:50when I was a child we moved basically 13
23:53times before I was the age of 16.
23:55and so I wasn't around too many schools
23:58for very long
24:00my mom didn't want me to have a lot of
24:02friends because she thought it would be
24:03disruptive
24:04and so I never got to stay the night at
24:08anybody's house you know go to
24:10um
24:11slumber parties or dances or anything
24:14really you weren't allowed
24:18because your mother wouldn't allow you
24:19to
24:24[Music]
24:29pattern had developed a turn of tight
24:32control by Tanya's mother a pattern
24:34Tanya says of abuse was she abusive to
24:37you verbally and physically yeah
24:41what exactly did she do did she did she
24:43actually beat you yeah sometimes
24:53when you were little I don't know
24:56it's just something I've dealt with all
24:58my life I figured well if my mom hits me
25:01it doesn't matter because she loves me
25:03that's what I always thought
25:05and so you know all my life that's the
25:08way I've thought if somebody hits me you
25:10know
25:11doesn't mean anything and you know they
25:13love me
25:14I wouldn't call myself an abusive mother
25:17not abusive ever
25:20corrective
25:21Maybe
25:24some people I guess can say that
25:29there's a lot of people out there no
25:30different well we had problems that they
25:34weren't that big of problems well we've
25:37managed to
25:38get them straightened out
25:40about all anybody can do
25:43even though that turbulence seems far
25:45behind her Tanya Harding is taking an
25:48unconventional step she said she wants a
25:50new family close friends David Weber his
25:53wife and their daughter Stephanie I
25:56believe now that I have a real family
25:58Stephanie's parents are going to adopt
26:02me soon really and so I can have a real
26:04family and a real sister and brothers
26:07and I mean it's wonderful I mean I've
26:10never had anything like that is that
26:11something you've always wanted yeah I've
26:14always wanted to have a family I always
26:16went into somebody to love me for me but
26:18don't you think your father loves you
26:19for you yeah I do he says is this going
26:23to hurt him at all you know because
26:26we're all kind of all big one happy
26:27family and what about your mother
26:30I don't see my mother that very much you
26:33know she comes to the rank and sees me
26:34skate but that's about it
26:39while there are closer now but they see
26:41each other in public places they are
26:43rarely together they rarely talk
26:46are you a little better up here if you
26:48don't have to see her that much I'm a
26:51little better if she doesn't put me down
26:52I mean you know right recently she's
26:55been really good and she says that you
26:57know I look good and I'm skating great
26:59and but most of my life she always told
27:02me I skated like crap I was too fat I
27:05never I'm never gonna win I'm never
27:07going to beat these people I'm never
27:08going to do anything
27:10and so it was really hard
27:12and I think that that had a lot to do
27:14with the hate relationship that I had
27:16for her
27:18but memories especially childhood ones
27:20are sometimes bad ones Tanya Harding
27:23remembers her mother wanting her to quit
27:26did your parents want you to escape
27:28most of the time my dad was mostly
27:30always behind me he says whatever you
27:32want to do but there was a lot of times
27:34my mom wanted me to quit
27:36and I don't know why I don't I just
27:39think maybe she didn't want me to be in
27:42the Limelight or anything matter of fact
27:44I even bought her a horse trying to get
27:46her out of skating you bought her a
27:48horse yeah a little pony
27:51trying to get her out of skating she
27:53took the pony and she says now I can
27:55have a pony and skate too and she was
27:57just tickled pink
27:59then
28:01it turned out she couldn't give up
28:02skating and I couldn't have both so we
28:05had to sell the horse
28:08[Music]
28:12ticket out
28:16he says that's not all she wants out of
28:18life it if you are not allowed to skate
28:20at the Olympics it is because of an ugly
28:23incident
28:25can you live with that now I hope that I
28:27can go on
28:30I have to
28:32I can't let this ruin me
28:36work too hard too long
28:3920 years
28:42you know I just want to have a good life
28:44for myself and maybe someday a family
28:49I just want to not have to worry
28:52I don't want it to be the same when I
28:54was growing up for my children
29:02you know
29:05and what is that lesson
29:11to respect
29:14you want to do
29:16I mean in guidelines
29:18but
29:19to basically to respect them
29:24and I know that I will respect them
29:27because I know I didn't get it
29:32this interview was obviously Tonya
29:34Harding's attempt to make her case to
29:35the American public both she and Nancy
29:38Kerrigan stand to make big money from
29:40book movie or television deals Harding
29:42says she intends to use some of the
29:44money she receives from her current
29:46notoriety to set up a trust for Special
29:48Olympics children
29:50later Tanya Harding makes her fans a
29:52promise an Olympic promise but next wait
29:56till you hear what the rest of the world
29:57thinks of Tanya
30:01[Music]
30:11the Olympics don't get underway until
30:13Saturday but little Hammer is already
30:16buzzing with the one topic that's on
30:18everyone's mind whatever Olympic
30:20officials decide about whether she's
30:22allowed to skate Tanya Harding has the
30:24dubious honor of being the most infamous
30:26athlete in this year's Olympics 48 Hours
30:29correspondent Susan Spencer is in the
30:31center of the action Susan
30:33Connie lillahammer and everybody in
30:35little Hammer just wants to know one
30:37thing about this whole issue and that is
30:40the truth the whole truth then they can
30:42figure out what if anything the U.S
30:44Olympic Committee ought to do about it
30:50[Music]
30:55swirling in the list of the biggest
30:57controversy ever to hit the sport but
31:00Olympic skaters here are trying to hold
31:02concentration act as if they've never
31:05heard of Tonya Harding
31:08figure skating pairs practiced this
31:10morning at the same Hammer rink where
31:12Harding hopes to redeem a reputation
31:14personal and professional if the United
31:17States Olympic Committee gives her a
31:19chance but some like check skater Radka
31:22cavara kova already have made up their
31:25minds I think she should not Escape
31:27Tonya knew about who did it
31:30before the policemen found out who did
31:33it
31:33with little Hammer gearing up for the
31:36big day there are very few in this
31:38picturesque little town without an
31:40opinion thank you and thousands of
31:43journalists here are feeding the frenzy
31:45worldwide often at the expense of
31:48reporting on their own country's
31:49athletes
31:51the Japanese always big on personal
31:54responsibility see mystified that
31:56Harding hasn't publicly apologized for
31:59what happened most of the feeding of the
32:02Japanese people is she is guilty do you
32:05think that this story has gotten too
32:07much coverage I don't think so this
32:09story is universal
32:11[Music]
32:13the French have a skater of their own
32:15who's considered a favorite no matter
32:17French channels two and three have
32:20devoted as much time to Harding and
32:22Kerrigan as they have to her in front
32:25they don't know why they're they're two
32:28two girls very beautiful girl and why
32:31the violence is present in the in in the
32:34in the sport and into skating it's like
32:36Days of Our Lives on ice and then there
32:38are the Australians I don't think
32:40Australians can resist a good story and
32:42this is a hell of a story The
32:44Sensational assault case that has since
32:46rocked the sport so it's been on every
32:49night it is after all the Aussies say
32:51the best soap opera America is exported
32:54in a long time you the elements of sex
32:57and glamor and the possible crime and
32:59even possible retribution at the
33:01Olympics retribution at the Olympics
33:03well if they both skate the result says
33:05it doesn't it who was meant to be here
33:07who wasn't meant to be here more to the
33:09point right now who will be here though
33:12the skaters didn't show up for practice
33:14today all the names were up there on the
33:17board and the inside betting is that in
33:19the end Tonya Harding will skate on this
33:22ice but Harvey Schiller the executive
33:25director of the U.S Olympic Committee
33:26notes that the rules still require All
33:29American athletes to stick to the
33:31Olympic code of conduct so what does
33:34that mean in this case we're facing some
33:36things that take us beyond the
33:38boundaries of sport you know most people
33:39like sport because it has a winner and
33:42loser usually a few ties here and there
33:43but this is going to go on well into the
33:45future and there's certainly precedent
33:47for conduct issues and other things to
33:49be
33:50an imposing array of 1 000 athletes
33:53takes the Olympic gold actually Olympic
33:55precedents are pretty confusing in 1924
33:59Marksman William silkworth competed in
34:01Paris although he was under indictment
34:04for fraud he won Gold and later was
34:07convicted
34:08but in 1936 officials threw backstroke
34:11gold medalist Eleanor Holm Whalen off
34:13the team for too much partying what
34:16about the story of your drinking
34:18champagne I did drink some champagne
34:21because I liked it more recently
34:23Sprinter and 1988 silver medalist Butch
34:26Reynolds was suspended after he tested
34:28positive for drugs
34:32he successfully sued the international
34:34amateur athletic Federation and won 27
34:38million dollars
34:40but never before has there been a case
34:42where one athlete is accused of
34:44involvement in a direct attack on
34:46another
34:48and here in Lillehammer consumed at the
34:51moment with Goodwill and Olympic
34:52idealism with fair play and
34:55sportsmanship that's all many people
34:57need to know people shouldn't hurt each
35:00other
35:01to get a place on the Olympic Games it's
35:04not a very nice thing to do is it you
35:06think she should be able to skate
35:09no I don't think so you don't why not
35:12because I think she has something to do
35:16with the case Harding uh
35:19but Harding also has Defenders even here
35:23but as long as people don't know for
35:25sure if she's done this we 've come here
35:28to the longer
35:30[Applause]
35:32back at the rink where a gold can mean
35:34honor and glory and millions of dollars
35:37there's an undercurrent of concern Tonya
35:40Harding arrives soon and is even slated
35:43to practice at the same time and place
35:45as rival Nancy Kerrigan I think
35:48everybody will be careful about her
35:50because
35:52we want to know if she was involved or
35:54no so I think I'll be careful but to
35:57tell her but you know what do you mean
35:59you'll be careful you know like it will
36:02not be like it used to be talking to her
36:05because you don't know because I don't
36:08know
36:09it is Connie a very strange environment
36:12for what are usually those inspiring
36:14words let the games begin there's a
36:17sense about this to just let this part
36:19of the games be over with Connie thank
36:22you Susan Spencer
36:24Nancy Kerrigan arrived in Norway this
36:26morning and didn't waste any time
36:27getting outfitted for her team jacket
36:29and getting her Olympic credentials and
36:32thirteen-year-old Michelle Kwan who
36:34placed second in the Olympic trials and
36:36wound up his first alternate when
36:37Kerrigan was selected was practicing as
36:40usual and like Arrowhead California the
36:4388 pound Wonder may be leaving for
36:45Norway this weekend but she cannot live
36:47or practice with the team
36:49what does the country think about all of
36:51this a CBS News poll shows most
36:53Americans think if Tonya Harding is not
36:56charged with a crime she should be
36:58allowed to skate in the Olympics but do
37:01they believe her story that she was not
37:03involved in the plot against Nancy
37:04Kerrigan nearly two-thirds say she is
37:07lying
37:08still ahead Tonya Harding's final words
37:11and when we come back Johnson Whitaker
37:14was a black Cadet at West Point the
37:16trouble is he was the only black Cadet
37:20thank you
37:23finally we've heard a lot from Tanya
37:26Harding tonight but to really understand
37:28her you have to understand how much she
37:30really wants the dream she's worked for
37:32since she was three and no matter how
37:35bad this nightmare is she still truly
37:37believes when the U.S Olympic skating
37:39team takes the ice she will be there
37:42I'm sure that everyone can expect the
37:44triple axel because it's you know going
37:47to be one of my last competitions
37:50and I want to end it at my Peak top form
37:54and that will be with triple Axel I want
37:57it to be a perfect program
37:59it's at the perfect spot you know
38:01Olympics is the perfect place to do it
38:03be able to try and be perfect sound
38:05pretty darn determined
38:07I can do it and I will do it people
38:11haven't seen it for a couple of years
38:13so I'm gonna go out with a bang
38:17thanks for joining us tonight we'll see
38:19eye to eye again three weeks from
38:21tonight after the Olympics and I'll see
38:23you again tomorrow night with Dan Rather
38:25on the CBS Evening News good night
38:27everybody
38:30[Music]
38:32[Applause]
38:35it will be anything but quiet on the set
38:38when Dave welcomes movie critics Siskel
38:40and Ebert singer Daryl Hall and the
38:42shortest man in the NBA Mugsy Bogues all
38:45coming up on tonight's Late Show with
38:46David Letterman Mark McEwen here
38:48thanking you for making CBS America's
38:50most watched Network now your local news
38:53[Music]
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