The U.S. Figure Skating Association didn't just say goodbye to Tonya Harding. It said good riddance.
In blunt words, the association's disciplinary panel finally passed judgment on Harding's role in the Nancy Kerrigan attack and leveled the harshest penalties in the history of U.S. figure skating.Harding had shown "a clear disregard for fairness, good sportsmanship and ethical behavior," the panel concluded Thursday after two days of closed-door hearings.
The panel, in a unanimous vote, took away the national championship Harding won in Detroit Jan. 8 and banned her from membership in the association for life.
It punctuated its long-delayed action by concluding Harding was in on the scheme to injure her biggest rival, despite her protests to the contrary.
"By a preponderance of the evidence, the panel did conclude that she had prior knowledge and was involved prior to the incident," said William Hybl, the former U.S. Olympic Committee president who chaired the panel.
He said the panel based its conclusion on testimony as well as evidence, much of which was collected by Portland, Ore., attorney John Bennett, who has been working for the association for more than five months.
"I will tell you that various records - bank records, phone records - and the way they came together to establish a case really were important to this panel," Hybl said.
He said he and the others on the panel felt they had to take strong action to set a standard for future athletic behavior in the United States.
"We all care a great deal about sports in this country. We care about young people participating, and we want them to understand that we're supporting them with a level playing field," Hybl said.
Panel member Sharon Watson said "figure skaters in the United States and their families and fans can now hold their heads up."
Unlike her attitude just a few months ago, Harding seemed in no mood for a fight. Neither she nor any of her attorneys attended the hearing that preceded the panel's decision. Privately, her attorneys felt there was little use in showing up.
Her chief attorney, Bob Weaver, continued to contend that the panel lacked jurisdiction because Harding already had resigned from the association as part of her plea bargain with criminal prosecutors.
He issued a statement on Harding's behalf saying she was disappointed in the panel's action but not surprised.
Although she can appeal the panel's decision to the executive committee, that seemed unlikely.
"It's been her decision up to this point not to contest these proceedings, but she's made no final decision on the appeal," Weaver told The Associated Press.
Although Harding has not been convicted of participating in the plot to attack Kerrigan, Hybl, a former prosecutor, said that there is almost always considerable evidence of a more serious crime when plea agreements are reached.
The most important, and irrefutable, evidence in the panel's decision was Harding's March 16 admission that she conspired to hinder prosecution in the Kerrigan case, Hybl said.
