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   Former skating champ Tonya Harding, who became notorious when her ex-husband allegedly hired a hit man to club her skating rival Nancy Kerrigan in the knee, is speaking out about Kerrigan's father's death and her brother's arrest. 
   
   A rep for Tonya tells "The Insider": "Tonya feels very sad for Nancy and her family and extends her deepest sympathy and condolences to them. Tonya's beloved dad, Al Harding, passed away this past April, so she understands the grief Nancy and her family are feeling at this difficult time." ||||| The parents of Olympic ice princess Nancy Kerrigan sued her older brother in March 2008 in a desperate attempt to recover $105,000 they’d lost paying his mortgage, credit card bills and even buying food for his pets, court papers detail. 
   
   In court papers, Daniel and Brenda Kerrigan claimed their son Mark Kerrigan - while serving a 2-year jail sentence on assault, drug and property destruction charges, and having been divorced by his wife Janet in 2007 over “cruel and abusive treatment” - agreed to reimburse the handout once his house in Wilmington sold, but “failed, refused and neglected to make full payment upon demand.” ||||| Nancy Kerrigan 'Really Struggling' after Father's Death 
   
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   Reeling from the death of her father, Nancy Kerrigan still mustered the strength to show the class and courtesy for which she is known in the skating world.Paul Wylie, an Olympic silver medalist who also competed in the 1992 Albertville Olympics with Kerrigan, spoke with her by phone early Monday when he heard the news that Daniel Kerrigan, 70, died after an alleged assault by his troubled son, Mark."She was really struggling," Wylie tells PEOPLE. "But she called to thank me for calling."Kristi Yamaguchi, who also competed with Kerrigan in Albertville, offered her condolences by text mail, and Kerrigan responded, "Thank you...I appreciate all the support I've been getting."Authorities charged Mark Kerrigan with assaulting his father who died during an altercation at the family's Massachusetts home Jan. 24. A cause of death has not been determined, but Daniel Kerrigan's wife Brenda tells the Boston Herald he may have suffered a heart attack. At a Monday arraignment in the Boston suburb of Woburn, Mark Kerrigan pleaded not guilty to the charges and was held on $10,000 bail."I am so saddened for Nancy," Yamaguchi, the Olympic champion and winner of the sixth season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars, tells PEOPLE. "My heart goes out to Nancy and her family. "Yamaguchi, who performed in a cancer benefit with Kerrigan in November, says the tragedy has hit the skating community hard. "Nancy is part of our family and the loss of a parent is devastating. I always smile when I think of Dan because he was a lot of fun and he had such pride for his daughter and her accomplishments. That meant a lot to Nancy. He and Brenda were always there for her."Daniel Kerrigan, Wylie adds, was a father figure to all the skaters. "He and Brenda touched many skaters lives," he says. "One day he visited me at my apartment and said, 'That window needs fixing and if you do it this way, it'll save you $20 on your heating bill.' He was a fatherly like that. Dan was a great guy and a family man."
target: – Mark Kerrigan—now charged with assault following the sudden death of his father—was sued by his parents over money in March 2008. Daniel and Brenda Kerrigan claimed to have loaned their son—who was in jail at the time on an assault charge—$105,000 for his mortgage and expenses ranging from credit card bills to cat food. He then “failed, refused and neglected to make full payment upon demand,” according to court papers; the parents' attorney said the issue was resolved that December. Mark pleaded not guilty to assaulting his father yesterday and is being held on bail, the Boston Herald adds. Meanwhile, fellow figure skaters are reaching out to Mark's sister, Nancy: Paul Wylie tells People that she's “really struggling," while Kristi Yamaguchi said Kerrigan texted her to thank her for the support. Even Tonya Harding, Nancy’s most infamous rival, released a statement telling the Insider she is “very sad for Nancy. She understands the grief Nancy and her family are feeling at this difficult time. ”