Nagano Olympic moguls gold-medalist Tae Satoya apologized to Japanese skiing officials Friday for her role in a nightclub brawl and pledged to focus more on her career as an active athlete. Satoya, who also won bronze at the Salt Lake City Olympics four years later, visited the Ski Association of Japan without advance notice and conveyed her apology to competition director Toshiaki Murasato and other officials for the Feb. 8 incident. Satoya was charged with alleged misconduct at a nightclub in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district, where she went with her private coach and eventually got drunk and attacked a security guard. A weekly magazine published in early March reported that a screaming Satoya threw glasses, kicked tables and chairs, and ended up injuring a bar staffer when he tried to stop her from engaging in sex with a man on a sofa in a room. Satoya, 29, said she plans to leave Japan for North America shortly and take part in several World Cup events at her own expense.
