PORTLAND, Ore. -- Tonya Harding won her fight with the U.S. Olympic Committee to skate in last month's Olympics. Now she's fighting to stay in competitive skating.
The Executive Committee of the U.S. Figure Skating Association Friday dismissed an appeal by Harding's lawyers challenging a disciplinary hearing scheduled for Thursday in Colorado Springs.
Harding's lawyers said in a statement Friday that she's "considering her legal options and will make a decision on an appropriate course of action" early this week.
A five-member panel is trying to determine whether Harding took part in the Jan. 6 attack on Nancy Kerrigan. The panel could kick her out of the USFSA, effectively banning her from competition, including the World Championships later this month.
The injuries Harding suffered in an attack Thursday night wouldn't keep her out of that competition.
The skater told police she was jumped from behind and knocked to the ground as she walked from her truck to the apartment where she is staying.
Harding told investigators she struggled with her assailant before setting off a personal alarm she keeps with her and running for the apartment.
The attack occurred about 11 p.m. as Harding walked through a park to the suburban Beaverton apartment of friends John and Stephanie Quintero.
Harding was treated at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center for a sprained left wrist and bruises and scrapes to her knees and elbows.
Investigators think Harding was attacked by someone who knows who she is, police spokesman Mark Hyde said. He said random attacks are rare in Beaverton, a suburb west of Portland.
Hyde said Harding described the assailant as a white man dressed in dark clothing.
Police say they'll contact Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, as part of a routine investigation. Gillooly's lawyer, Ron Hoevet, said his client had nothing to do with the attack.
Gillooly pleaded guilty to a role in the attack on Kerrigan and implicated Harding. She maintains innocence and has not been charged.
A grand jury meeting in Portland to investigate the Kerrigan attack is due to return indictments March 21.
KERRIGAN THREATS: Kerrigan's coach, Evy Scotvold, confirmed the skater received death threats while in Lillehammer.
But he said that didn't keep her away from the closing ceremony. "They were going to have Harding and Kerrigan together in the parade, and nobody thought that was a good idea," Scotvold said. Contributing: wire reports
