Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 22, 1994 TAG: 9401220102
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORTLAND, ORE. LENGTH: Medium
Tonya Harding is likely to remain on the U.S. Olympic team when the final roster is submitted Jan. 31, despite a grand jury probe into her role in the alleged conspiracy to attack Nancy Kerrigan.
A decision Friday to push back to Feb. 3 the deadline for the grand jury's report, which had been due next week, put the U.S. Figure Skating Association in an awkward legal bind.
The association probably will have to name the team before Harding is cleared or indicted in the case. If Harding remains on the Jan. 31 roster, she still could be dropped by the U.S. Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee.
No charges have been filed against Harding, the 1994 U.S. women's champion, and she denies accusations by her bodyguard that she helped plot the assault.
Three weeks before the Winter Games begin in Lillehammer, Norway, the grand jury still is calling witnesses and reviewing evidence to determine whether indictments should be issued against Harding or any of the four men arrested on conspiracy charges.
"I can't go into the reasons for the delay, except to say that everyone wants the flexibility," said prosecutor Norm Frink.
Federal law prevents the association from ousting Harding without giving her notice and an opportunity for a hearing. If the association removes her from the roster, she can appeal to the USOC and take other legal action to regain her spot.
Harvey Schiller, executive director of the USOC, said the change in date for the grand jury report would have no impact on the ultimate decision about whether to let Harding skate in Lillehammer.
"We still are required to submit the entire team roster by Jan. 31," Schiller said. "There is a procedure in the USOC constitution for placing athletes on the team after that time. In the case of figure skating, alternates can be substituted right up to the date of the draw. For us, nothing else changes."
The draw for figure skating is Feb. 21, two days before the competition begins.
"I think we have to remain in control of the Jan. 31 deadline," said Paul George, a USOC executive board member and representative of the U.S. Figure Skating Association. "It just shifts some of the situation from here to Lillehammer. If it comes up there, it comes up there."
Regardless of the association or USOC decisions, the IOC can act independently to bar Harding.
"We will start making up our minds depending on what will happen Jan. 31, whether she is entered or not," said IOC director general Francois Carrard in a telephone interview from Lausanne, Switzerland.
In Stoneham, Mass., Kerrigan skated for an hour Friday morning, hitting her first triple jumps since the Jan. 6 attack in Detroit, including a triple toe loop.
She declined to answer questions afterward and left for Los Angeles to film a commercial, according to her representatives.
Harding skated in public for the second consecutive day, winning roaring support from fans at the shopping mall rink where she practices in Oregon.
More than 200 people, many of them sporting big pink "We Believe in Tonya" buttons, crowded around the rink to watch their hometown Olympian.
Three of the four people arrested - bodyguard Shawn Eckardt, alleged hit man Shane Stant and alleged getaway car driver Derrick Smith - are negotiating with prosecutors about plea bargains in exchange for their cooperation, a source close to the case told The Associated Press.
Jeff Gillooly, Harding's ex-husband, isn't trying to cut a deal by testifying against her, the source told the AP.
The only direct link between Harding and the attack that has become public is a series of accusations by Eckardt. If the case hinges on his testimony, attorneys for all sides realize his credibility will be on the line.
"We're very much aware of the fact that his credibility is at issue and that corroborating facts are going to be necessary or he will be torn apart," said W. Mark McKnight, Eckardt's attorney.
McKnight said he advised Eckardt not to keep making new accusations in interviews, but Eckardt hasn't heeded the advise.
"At this point," McKnight said, "he's doing things . . . to save his skin."
by CNB