another sad article about Tonya

bronxgirl · May 30, 2004

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5085404/

Another sad (at least to me) article about the continuing downward spiral of Tonya's life. It focuses on her boxing career.

rusalka · May 30, 2004

that's soooo sad!

Tonichelle · May 30, 2004

I hate to say it... but I'm tired of it being her family's fault every time ya turn around... it's been 10 1/2 years? time to move on.

IDLERACER · May 30, 2004

This statement is a bit bogus:

In the 1970s, the decade of her birth, Tonya was the 52nd most popular name in the United States. In 1993, the year before the attack on Kerrigan, Tonya was ranked 570th. Three years later, it had dropped to 922nd, and since 1998, it has disappeared altogether from a list of 1,000 popular names.

First of all, it was always very uncommon to spell it that way. Most people either spell it Tonia (as in Kwiatkowski) or Tanya (as in Tucker). Secondly, it's silly because the name Charles didn't suddenly take a nosedive after the Tate/La Bianca murders, and Timothy (as in McVeigh) continues to be as popular as ever.

PrincessLeppard · May 30, 2004

The list doesn't (or hasn't, in the past) distinguished between spellings. So "Tonya" and all it's variations are lumped together. Whether or not she is part of the decline, I don't know.

Laura

BronzeisGolden · May 30, 2004

I agree with Idleracer, the name thing is really reaching. I don't think Tonya herself ruined that name. Some names just go into decline and others become popular. You don't see that many Nancys either, are we to assume that is because she acted so atrociously at the Lillehammer medal ceremony and later verbally assaulted Mickey Mouse? LOL, no. It is a cycle. But, I would dare to say that Adolf may be one name that went into serious decline mainly because of its most famous example. At any rate, I still feel sorry for Tonya. She is all screwed up for various reasons and I refuse to delight in anyone's misfortune or muddled life.

John King · May 30, 2004

She could skate to(or box!)Courtney Love!

Some people keep stumbling and stumbling,Tonya & Courtney being a few.Oksana Baiul straightened herself out,as did Jennifer Capriati,and others.Tonya's life seems to be a long drawn out pathos.

soogar · May 30, 2004

She doesn't sound like she is doing too poorly. At least she seems like she is in shape.

Ladskater · May 30, 2004

My goodness why doesn't the poor girl hang up the boxing gloves and just teach skating in some remote skating club? We have rinks in the far north regions of BC that are always looking for skating instructors. I am sure her abilities in figure skating would be appreciated.

Why does she insist on being pummeled? Makes no sense!!!

Vash01 · May 30, 2004

She could make a pretty decent living, just teaching FS.....if only she accepted the situation and moved on with her life.

I would not have recognized the woman in that picture as Tonya Harding.

Vash

Yazmeen · May 30, 2004

Lad: Unfortunately, Tonya cannot accept the possibility of living life in obscurity. She feels she was "wronged" and that the world owes her the fame she was denied. Other skater's reaped fame and fortune after 1994, she became a pariah. She's going to achieve fame and fortune if it kills her.

I don't have the energy to feel sorry for her anymore.

soogar · May 30, 2004

Well the article said that she was teaching at a small rink in Portland but switched to boxing so she could make more money. With her lifetime suspension from the USFSA, what kind of hope does she have coaching? The real money in coaching is getting top level pupils to national competitions. Can Tonya even attend a USFSA competition? I don't think that she would be allowed to set foot anywhere near nationals.

I think the ban is ridiculous and what's even worse is that she can't skate anywhere (not even with the pros). While I will be the first to admit that she got herself into this mess, I think it's kind of scary how she has absolutely no outlet for her athletic talent. I think that in addition to the financial rewards of boxing (having a nest egg), I think that boxing offers her an athletic outlet. She might not be very good at it now but maybe if she works at it.....

skatepixie · May 30, 2004

She acts like people just decided to shun her for no reason. Not true. People dont want anything to do with her because of her role in what happened to Nancy.

RealtorGal · May 30, 2004

I have to admit that I feel sorry for her. She is just so pathetic. She's got this coach who claims he wants her to have a couple of million in the bank, yet she earns $10K-$15K per fight and hasn't had a paycheck in months. Huh? What's up with that? Where is this supposed $2 million coming from?

show 42 · May 31, 2004

I loved Tonya's skating before the "whack that was heard around the world"........I'm wondering if she's trying to garner enough controversial involvements to pen a book or a movie deal.....shoot, she's got enough experiences now to launch a twelve episode mini-series........42

ladybug · May 31, 2004

Whatever happened to her Godmother or whoever that woman was that Tonya was hanging around with. She was with Tonya when she skated in that Pro Competition some years ago.

This woman was supposed to be her saving grace. Did she fizzle out of Tonya's life also?

Ladybug

Kasey · Jun 2, 2004

She is pathetic. But it seems much of it is by choice. There is only so long we can blame the past for our present. You have to grow up, remove head from butt, and move on. Lots of people with worse lives than Tonya's have managed to do that.

Kasey

berthes ghost · Jun 2, 2004

You don't see that many Nancys either, are we to assume that is because she acted so atrociously at the Lillehammer medal ceremony and later verbally assaulted Mickey Mouse?

I don't know, ever since taking off her medal at 94 worlds, not a single one of my friends has named their kid "Surya". Coincidence? I think not!

dorispulaski · Jun 2, 2004

AFAIK, the ban means that Tonya can't even take students to their tests, let alone their competitions. This severely limits what services she can provide as a coach. Plus what student at a competition wants to put next to her name, Coach: Tonya Harding at a competition, especially since she has to have a different coach with her at her competitions and tests.

The story of Tonya Harding has a lot to teach about the status of crime and punishment in this country:

Even for a criminal who didn't go to jail, like Tonya.

We do not forget.
We do not forgive.
There are no second acts.
There are no second chances.
We do not believe in rehabilitation.
We only believe in retribution.

Especially for women.

We are not a Christian country, although we have certainly trumpetted our piety abroad.

If Tonya needs to accept who she is and what she did, so do we need to accept who we are and what we do every day, and what is done in our name.

The abuses in our prisons here at home are if anything worse than those we have committed abroad in Iraq, as a shocking article in the NY Times this last week revealed.

I hope Tonya's life works out better than it seems to have so far.
But it won't until she changes her name and has plastic surgery so that no one recognizes her. Dinner at Applebee's and a day hunting does not seem to be too much to ask from life.

MOONPIE48 · Jun 2, 2004

Doris-
ITA - re: prison conditions we allow here and abroad. Through a reach-out program my church sponsors I have corresponded with a number of women in prison and although the guidelines do not allow us to discuss their crimes i am often told of various ways the women are blocked from educating and improving themselves. The simple questions remains, how do we expect people not to be repeat offenders if we don't help them find a way to make a living.
I found Tonya's comment about putting a nice dress on and going to Appleby's to be rather touching and sad. If Mike Tyson can fight again after everything he has done, I don't see why this woman should not be allowed to make a living at what she does best.
peace
moonpie

another sad article about Tonya

bronxgirl

rusalka

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

IDLERACER

PrincessLeppard

~ Evgeni's Sex Bomb ~

BronzeisGolden

John King

soogar

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

Vash01

Yazmeen

soogar

skatepixie

RealtorGal

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan

ladybug

Kasey

berthes ghost

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

MOONPIE48

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