Jeff Stone says he's never had a good experience about rehashing his infamous past, which makes his candor even more surprising.
Deadspin.com posted a story by freelance writer Amy K. Nelson, who caught up with Stone, who went by a more familiar name some 20 years ago - Jeff Gillooly.
Gillooly was Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding's husband who "masterminded" an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
Gillooly was charged with conspiracy to commit assault but plea-bargained a lesser jail time for racketeering. According to the article, Harding still maintains she knew nothing about the attack before it happened.
Gillooly changed his name to Stone when he got out of prison in 1995 and returned to Clackamas, Ore., less than two miles from the rink Gillooly and Harding used to frequent.
As the 20-year anniversary of the incident approaches (Jan. 6, 1994), Stone agreed to talk to Nelson in a phone interview, she reported, after she found him at his home, where he did not want to talk.
Stone, who said people still recognize him, said the question gets most is whether he regrets what he did to Kerrigan.
"I guess that's kind of a yes-and-a-no question," he told Nelson. "Yes, it was pretty darn stupid. It was pretty ridiculous. But in the same instance, I'm a big believer in how you lay out your life and how each step you take, each opportunity you use-whether for good or for bad-kind of leads you down the road. I'm real happy with my life, I'm real happy with the way it's turned out. I've got two beautiful kids with my ex-wife and I've got a lot of good friends. What's there to regret? Not much."
He said he's apologized to Kerrigan for his actions and did so again during the interview. Stone said he has seen Harding only once since shortly after the attack on Kerrigan. He said he thought Harding was an unhappy person but wished no ill will toward her.
Stone has two children, Haley and Noah, and said he also gets asked a lot about what his kids think of his infamous past.
"When Haley was very young, and we were at a PTA meeting and a gal came up to me and said, 'Are you Jeff?' and I said, 'Yeah, I'm Jeff.' And she said, 'Are you Jeff Gillooly?' And I said, 'Yep, yeah, I'm Jeff Gillooly.' And she said, 'I don't mean to be rude. But does that embarrass you?' 'No, it doesn't embarrass me.' And then she finally came up with the question she wanted to ask me and she said, 'What if your daughter wants to be a figure skater?' And I told her, 'Well, I guess I'll make sure she wins.' That's the only time I've had a Being Jeff Gillooly (moment)."
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