It must be getting serious, because Olympic pooh-bahs are actually working this weekend. Generally, these great thinkers gather during off hours only for free caviar, photo opportunities or fingerbowl repairs.
But Lillehammer, Norway, is ready and waiting, and Tonya Harding is still lutzing it up, so not a minute can be wasted. Thus, a special panel meets in Colorado Springs to determine whether she has violated one of our country’s most sacred documents, the U.S. Figure Skating Association Code of Ethics. A decision could be reached as early as Saturday. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it could be a long Winter Olympics.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall, if for no other reason than to sample the wisdom in that room. Mind you, the U.S. Figure Skating Association is the same entity that-shortly after Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in Detroit, allegedly by seamy associates of rival Harding-announced it would monitor public opinion on the matter. Details, details. The Olympic movement gladly takes your money, but other contributions are unnecessary and inappropriate. Numerous bogus Olympic events exist, but conducting polls is not among them.
Realizing this mistake, the skating authority opted instead for a five-person committee. It will study the problem, then perhaps recommend a disciplinary hearing for Harding to Claire Ferguson, president of the USFSA. She owns the most important vote, although her vote doesn’t necessarily count because jurisdiction on Harding’s eligibility to participate rests with the U.S. Olympic Committee. It can do whatever it chooses and whenever, regardless of the special panel.
“It’s very involved,” noticed Jeff Cravens, a USOC spokesvoice from Colorado Springs. And his is a spokesvoice of knowledge. If Harding is summoned for a hearing, she has 30 days to be heard, but that period would go well past the Closing Ceremonies. Conceivably, the USOC could flex its muscles and merely remove Harding from the team, but this is a high-risk alternative. Once the USOC is finished paying legal fees to defend against Harding’s lawsuit, there might be no cash left for caviar, or even a $17 pizza and $8 beer in Lillehammer.
If only Harding could be charged, convicted and incarcerated immediately if not sooner, so the Games could go on without evil. How the Olympic geeks would love that. But they have to wonder why she hasn’t been arrested yet or if she’ll ever be. The case against Harding hinges on testimony from a gallery of rogues, starting right with her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly. What makes him and his garbage so believable all of a sudden? And what of his lawyer, Ronald H. Hoevet? After his client plea-bargains, Hoevet links Harding to the conspiracy and predicts she’ll be next to fall. So much for a code of ethics.
The scene since that day in Detroit has been as clumsy as the assault itself, and how Harding can still put the blades on and go around a practice rink without collapsing from stress is remarkable. She’s either a lot tougher than we think, or a lot cleaner. Consider, it was five weeks ago that the skating bigwigs first floated the balloon about her quitting. They weren’t encouraging it, of course. Oh, heavens no. But such a tragic turn could happen.
Harding had a better idea, though. Now it’s the Olympic disorganizers who are squirming, and it looks good on them. They could do what’s logical and fair-let Harding go to Lillehammer, then strip her of any awards later, if necessary. (Can you hear CBS applauding?) But what happens if Harding is kept home to preserve Olympic purity and is proven innocent? Who pays for that injustice, the special panel do-gooders? Or do we dress hit man Shane Stant in a tutu and call it all just a gross misunderstanding?
They should give the gold medal to the poor soul who had to sift through Jeff Gillooly’s rubbish. And if Tonya’s guilty, the ultimate penalty: She must watch figure skating for 10 years, no cigarettes and no blindfolds.
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