Brian Sean Griffith, the bodyguard to former figure skater Tonya Harding (now a boxer, see picture below) who plotted a role in attacking on Harding's rival Nancy Kerrigan during 1994 Olympics tryouts, has died, of what his doctor reported as natural causes, in Oregon. He was 40.
Skater Harding vs Boxer Harding (via)
Born with Shawn Eric Eckardt, Griffith had changed his name since the attack in an attempt to distance himself from the Harding-Kerrigan controversy :
Source: KPIC Link to WP's entry on The Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan Saga Tags: tonya harding, bodyguard, brian sean griffith, death, nancy kerriganGriffith, of Beaverton, was Harding's bodyguard as the Portland-born skater competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team in 1994. That January, a club-wielding assailant (video report below) hit Kerrigan in the knee, forcing her out of the competition.
Nancy Kerigan 1994 Deteroit Attack News Report FootageThe International Committee of the U.S. Figure Skating Association granted Kerrigan a spot anyway, and she recovered in time to win a silver medal at the winter Olympics (see video below).
Only days after the attack, Griffith confessed to the FBI and detailed a plan he and Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, had hatched. The investigation also eventually netted convictions of Shane Stant, the actual attacker, and Stant's uncle, Derrick Smith, who drove the getaway car.
For her part, Harding has always said she didn't know of the plan. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder an investigation into the assault and was banned from U.S. Figure Skating Association competitions.
Griffith was sentenced to 18 months in prison for racketeering but was released from the Oregon State Penitentiary four months early, in September 1995.