Tonya Tapper

A baton, typically a retractable/collapsible type that is carried by the police and can be easily carried by an average civilian and used for self-defense or destroying kneecaps. The term is derived from the 1994 attack of Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan by Shane Stant, who was later revealed to be hired by Jeff Gillooly and Shawn Eckardt. Eckardt was the bodyguard to and Gillooly was the ex-husband of rival Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding. The attacker used a 21-inch (53 cm) ASP telescopic baton and was intending to break the knee of Kerrigan, thus allowing Harding to advance further. Many news outlets and people have since associated Tonya Harding directly with the attack and the alliterative term "Tonya Tapper" was created.