Did Tonya Harding really ‘destroy’ figure skating? | Golden Skate

Did Tonya Harding really ‘destroy’ figure skating?

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gsk8

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From the interview (below in 2017) with Graham Bensinger, Scott Hamilton says many people think the Tonya Harding–Nancy Kerrigan controversy helped the sport because of massive TV ratings—but in his view, it actually “destroyed skating” by creating a short-term ratings explosion that led to unsustainable business decisions.

He argues the controversy created a “false economy” that the sport never recovered from.

In a nutshell:
  • Short-term explosion in popularity
  • Oversized financial expectations
  • Decline of professional skating opportunities
  • Long-term drop in ratings and interest
Do you agree or disagree?
  • Was the scandal ultimately good or bad for skating?
  • What would you have done differently if you were running the sport then?


At the 1.26 mark, Graham said: "And it didn't hurt either that there was a Nancy Kerrigan, Tanya Harding controversy."

Hamilton replied: "See, that's a good question, because a lot of people think that was a boom. It's honestly what destroyed skating."

What are your thoughts? When answering, let us know if you were following figure skating at that time to present :)
 
Well, as a younger fan, from a different country, that scandal really left me cold, and also, the drama at the Olympics with Tonya's laces which completely ruined my fave Josée Chouinard's Olympic moment.

So, I was a young and bitter fan after that. I didn't enjoy Kerrigan's skating either which was too ice princess-like for me. So as a non-American, it took a lot of place. Considering that the pro circuit and the TV shows were mostly American events, I cannot say it ruined the sport in my country of Canada. However, I have to say that I didn't follow women's skating for the longest time after that, and even today, it's my least favourite discipline. So in that sense, considering that women's skating was for many the marquee event, perhaps it did leave a bitter taste on others and led to a big void in fan commitment.

I will be reading with curiosity what people from both the USA and outside the USA will say about this... but to me, it certainly wasn't a positive thing.
 
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gsk8 said:
From the interview (below in 2017) with Graham Bensinger, Scott Hamilton says many people think the Tonya Harding–Nancy Kerrigan controversy helped the sport because of massive TV ratings—but in his view, it actually “destroyed skating” by creating a short-term ratings explosion that led to unsustainable business decisions.

He argues the controversy created a “false economy” that the sport never recovered from.

In a nutshell:
  • Short-term explosion in popularity
  • Oversized financial expectations
  • Decline of professional skating opportunities
  • Long-term drop in ratings and interest
Do you agree or disagree?
  • Was the scandal ultimately good or bad for skating?
  • What would you have done differently if you were running the sport then?


At the 1.26 mark, Graham said: "And it didn't hurt either that there was a Nancy Kerrigan, Tanya Harding controversy."

Hamilton replied: "See, that's a good question, because a lot of people think that was a boom. It's honestly what destroyed skating."

What are your thoughts? When answering, let us know if you were following figure skating at that time to present :)
Click to expand...

I was a retired competitor then, still actively skating for fun. While I can see his longterm point, I know the short term benefits it brought to many skaters with whom I was sharing the ice. The increase in public interest brought them show-skating careers that took them around the world. There was an increase in club membership, as children were encouraged by parents who had watched more skating than they ordinarily would thanks to the publicity that moved off the sports/entertainment pages, and that brought more careers for retired competitors who took up coaching. At the same time, there was a much smaller but noticeable uptick in interest in pairs skating after The Cutting Edge came out in 1992. Young hockey players were, for a brief while, exploring the discipline's possibilities.

But while the interest has died and interest in the sport has declined, that has happened in so many boom-and-bust activities. Fred Astaire movies in the 1930s and '40s caused a huge growth in the ballroom dance world that seemed to settle in permanently as studios added later dance fads like disco and Riverdance-style clogging to their classes. But the ballroom dance forum I belong to has been embroiled in argument for at least the last year about the reasons for a fading dance scene, with studios closing and many competitions disappearing from the schedule. There are days when I forget which forum I'm on, the despairing posts are so similar.

Some sports are so entrenched in the public's interest they are able to keep the juggernaut rolling, usually wealthy team sports like hockey (in Canada) or football (both definitions of the word) or basketball, or a few individual sports like tennis or golf. But the niche sports, usually ones the most physically difficult and/or expensive for an individual to do, have their moment fuelled by something that catches the public's attention, and then fade away.

I don't think the Harding-Kerrigan scandal destroyed the sport. I think it caused an unusual growth of attention on the sport which profited many, unexpectedly, for years. But that was thirty years ago. The spotlight was always going to fade and move on, but it created a good life for a generation.
 
I don't think that the scandal was the primary cause of the decline in popularity of professional and show skating. The model for show skating in the U.S. was, for half a century, Las Vegas showgirls on ice, like Ice Folies, Ice Capades, etc. Interest in this type of entertainment eventually petered out -- died of old age, I would say.

The new touring shows that came on the scene in the 1980s -- Stars on Ice, Champions on Ice, the Landover Professional Championships -- featured more skating and less kitsch -- that was my impression at the time anyway. These shows had a fairly long and successful run -- nothing is forever -- but were eventually "Victims of their own success" as made-for-TV specials proliferated beyond demand. Public taste in entertainment moves on. :shrug:
 
No. Probably held it off a tad longer. I will agree with him that the sudden grabby hands money aspect probably shot them in the feet (or boots) since the entertainment aspect of figure skating couldn't then sustain expectations (something like the way blockbuster movies, after a looong run, are now showing signs of trouble meeting their profit needs)
 
I don't think it had any impact outside of US, one more scandal in one more sport. who cares.
Honestly, apart from the movie which happened much much later, I remember the thrill of Oksana Baiul's OGM, the first Olympic gold medal for independent Ukraine, much much better than all the Harding-Kerrigan drama. And I think, rightfully so.
 
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It's easy to see in this thread who's not from the US and experienced it differently. I watched Figure skating at the time, and was more upset Torvill and Dean only got a Bronze than care about that kind of drama which took place in the women's discipline that was never my favourite. I might have been jealous of all the additional attention for Figure Skating, I would have loved such a boom of the sport in my own country. But no, not even an Olympc champion (1964) or silver medallist (1976) could do that probably. People would shrug and say: be ordinary, than you are mad enough (Dutch expression meaning: no need for that kind of drama to get people interested).

I do see now that having both a woman for the first time since 1976 (2022) and a pair for the first time ever (2026) at an Olympics is getting more children and parents interested in the sport. But, to be honest, the broadening of the scope to adult skating and separate competitions on that level, helped even more. I did enjoy the film though about what happened - but then that was highly insightful in the way it showed how you had to be a little princess as a woman instead of a muscular athlete! and the sport remains very expensive. I am still jealous of the show programmes though - especially in Japan, but the OG do give a swing in the US and Canada too!
 
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ladyjane said:
It's easy to see in this thread who's not from the US and expereienced it differently. I watched Figure skating at the time, and was more upset Torvill and Dean only got a Bronze than care about that kind of drama which took place in the women's discipline that was never my favourite. I might have been jealous of all the additional attention for Figure Skating, I would have loved such a boom of the sport in my own country. But no, not even an Olympc champion (1964) or siver medallist (1976) could do that probably. People would shrug and say: be ordinary, than you are mad enough (Dutch expression meaning: no need for that kind of drama to get people interested).

I do see now that having both a women for the first time since 1976 (2022) and a pair for the first time ever (2026) at an Olympics is getting more children and parents interested in the sport. But, to be honest, the broadening of the scope to adult skating and seperate competitions on that level, helped even more. I did enjoy the film though about what happened - but then that was highly insightful in the way it showed how you had to be a little princess as a woman instead of a muscular athlete! and the sport remains very expensive. I am still jealous of the show programmes though - especially in Japan, but the OG do give a swing in the US and Canada too!
Click to expand...
I agree about the movie, it was a good movie though I have no idea how close it was to the actual events. Good point about it touching on the ice princess expectations and the federation's politicking and playing favourites, backstage games, the favouritism and elitism of the sport. Leaving a bit of a bitter taste. Can't see how it would make the sport more likeable though. If anything, the portrait it painted of it was rather gloomy and off-putting.
 
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Diana Delafield said:
I was a retired competitor then, still actively skating for fun. While I can see his longterm point, I know the short term benefits it brought to many skaters with whom I was sharing the ice. The increase in public interest brought them show-skating careers that took them around the world. There was an increase in club membership, as children were encouraged by parents who had watched more skating than they ordinarily would thanks to the publicity that moved off the sports/entertainment pages, and that brought more careers for retired competitors who took up coaching. At the same time, there was a much smaller but noticeable uptick in interest in pairs skating after The Cutting Edge came out in 1992. Young hockey players were, for a brief while, exploring the discipline's possibilities.

But while the interest has died and interest in the sport has declined, that has happened in so many boom-and-bust activities. Fred Astaire movies in the 1930s and '40s caused a huge growth in the ballroom dance world that seemed to settle in permanently as studios added later dance fads like disco and Riverdance-style clogging to their classes. But the ballroom dance forum I belong to has been embroiled in argument for at least the last year about the reasons for a fading dance scene, with studios closing and many competitions disappearing from the schedule. There are days when I forget which forum I'm on, the despairing posts are so similar.

Some sports are so entrenched in the public's interest they are able to keep the juggernaut rolling, usually wealthy team sports like hockey (in Canada) or football (both definitions of the word) or basketball, or a few individual sports like tennis or golf. But the niche sports, usually ones the most physically difficult and/or expensive for an individual to do, have their moment fuelled by something that catches the public's attention, and then fade away.

I don't think the Harding-Kerrigan scandal destroyed the sport. I think it caused an unusual growth of attention on the sport which profited many, unexpectedly, for years. But that was thirty years ago. The spotlight was always going to fade and move on, but it created a good life for a generation.
Click to expand...
Are you talking about Dance Forums or a different forum? What is the name of the thread?
 
gsk8 said:
From the interview (below in 2017) with Graham Bensinger, Scott Hamilton says [...]

Click to expand...

Thanks for unearthing this interview!

For me, this is the missing piece of information regarding the reasons why the pro competitions got extinct. Talking about which, Scott Hamilton is the person who knows exactly what happened and what he says here is not about an opinion. It's about facts.

For economy, every boom is dangerous because the wave of boom economy rarely has a soft landing. And it is really interesting to read all posts in this thread and see who gained or lost what and what are feelings and memories today.

As for my country, the Harding-Kerigan incident got in the news here and there but caused no following or impact.
 
ladyjane said:
It's easy to see in this thread who's not from the US and experienced it differently. I watched Figure skating at the time, and was more upset Torvill and Dean only got a Bronze...
Click to expand...
Well, I was also upset that they got a bronze... 😶

I think in here, the scandal was seen as damaging the sport directly, and idea that "any publicity is good publicity" would have seemed strange - although in the end, it was probably true, at least a bit. But combined with various ice dance scandals of the '90s, I think not many people looked this period as some kind of golden era for FS.

As DD noted, all but the most established of sports have boom-bust cycles, usually tied with charismatic individuals capturing public imagination.
 
I remember there was a conspiracy theory at the time that the attack on Kerrigan was a charade, with everyone acting according to a prearranged script. That is, the "evil witch" Tonya was trying to destroy "Snow White" Nancy, but in the end, as in any fairy tale, good triumphed. I read this theory in a newspaper shortly before the Olympics. Oksana Baiul's victory was all the more unexpected, even though in reality she was a clear contender for the gold medal. It looked like the prince, instead of running around with the glass slipper trying to find Cinderella, simply married his classmate.
 
^ I think that the reason the good witch/bad witch story didn't get much traction outside the United States is that Nancy Kerrigan was not, by nature, personality, or skating style, a "princessy" type. They put her in a gold Vera Wang dress. but somehow (for me at least) it never really clicked.

Her family was not rich. Her father was a welder who had to drive the Zamboni at the local rink to pay for her lessons. and in general, yes, she was more the girl next door than the inaccessible princess on an icy pedestal.
 
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For those wanting to remember Tonya's skating career, there is fan fest for her!

Videos all work

dorispulaski

Thread 'Tonya Harding'

Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater, retired boxer, and reality television personality. She has a son, Gordon. Her wikipedia article reports the details of the Nancy Kerrigan attack and its aftermath. As a skater, Tonya won 1991 U.S. Nationals, and won the silver medal at 1991 Worlds. She finished first at 1994 U.S.Nationals, but USFSA invalidated that win. In skating, she was the first woman to land a triple Axel double toe combination, and the first to land a triple Axel in the short program. She also was the first to land triple...

I think the greed of the pro circuit played a part. There was just too much pro skating on TV and mostly the skaters skated the same programs over and over [unlike the wonderful Landover competitions.]

I particularly remember Yuka Sato skating for years to A Hat Full of Stars"
 
In the end, I don't think Tonya is the only culprit for destroying figure skating/pro circuit... just the way I don't think Alysa Liu will be the sole responsible for renewing interest for the sport. Both have contributed/ will contribute to shape the sport, that's for sure... but I find that's a lot to blame or credit for on only one person. These things are often multifactorial
 
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