I am a father of two daughters. One is 9, one is 5. From the moment I wake up until the time I fall asleep I have only two goals for them. The first is that neither of them end up as a stripper. The second is that neither of them end up doing porn. Nothing worse than accidentally ending up in the adult film section of DVD Planet and seeing one of your daughters staring seductively back at you. Sorry, I just got back from taking a Silkwood shower. Those were the two most important things that guided each and every decision I made. That is until November 5. I now have a third goal: do not, under any circumstances let my girls grow up to be like Elizabeth Lambert.
Elizabeth Lambert played for the University of New Mexico's woman's soccer team against Brigham Young University in a Mountain West Conference semifinal. Her play, if you can call it that was so horrendously dirty that it has launched a firestorm of YouTube clips. Check the video out here. Go on, I'll wait. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Watch it now. Great. Your reaction was likely one of two things: shock or laughter. Shall we take a closer look?
For you soccer newbies, players are issued either a yellow card (caution) or red card (instant ejection) for play or conduct deemed dangerous or detrimental to the sport. A player who is issued two yellow cards during the same match is instantly ejected. If I told you that after all of these incidents she was not even ejected would you believe me? Let's break down the action.
Incident 1: Lambert puts a solid forearm into the back of her opponent. If an official were to see this a yellow card is likely issue. This could be eligible for a red card if it happened later but early in the match a yellow is more appropriate.
Incident 2: Lambert wildly kicks at a ball near her opponent's chest and roughly impedes said opponent's progress and brings her to the ground. This could bring out a yellow card but would most likely be a very stern warning from the official that anything else would mean receiving a card.
Incident 3: Lambert completely wipes out her opponent with an out of control tackle, barely making any real attempt at the ball. This would almost certainly be a yellow card, which at this point should have been her second yellow card, thus leading to her ejection. Details are cloudy but I believe Lambert indeed received a yellow card for this.
Incident 4: Lambert pulls a BYU player to the ground by her ponytail. Clearly this qualifies for a red card and disqualification, regardless of what point of the game this happened in or what had preceded it. Strangely this was not caught by the referee or any of the sideline officials who have the authority to stop the game, confer with the lead official, and assure that the appropriate action is taken.
Even more incredulous is Lambert's reaction to the outrage her play has caused. She states that more attention has been given to her because she's a woman. I don't believe this is so. This would have made mainstream sports highlight shows regardless of whether it was a man or a woman who had done this. She also states that her rough play was just hard play in the context of a soccer match and that casual fans wouldn't understand. I consider myself to be a slightly more than casual fan of soccer and I have never seen this before. Lastly, she states that the video makes her look like a monster and this is not the way she plays. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on this to a degree. I have not seen any other games she has played but I have not heard of any other incidents such as this one. For this game, however, it is clear that she was intent on playing aggressively and doing whatever it takes to win. Whatever is right.
I have never seen rough play as blatant as Lambert's performance in this game. You will see one incident from time to time but never repeatedly. Why? Because officials usually are competent enough to stop this sort of play after the first incident! We documented 4 separate incidents where she could have received a yellow card and 2 where she could have received a red card. How so many incidents were overlooked by three officials over the course of the game mystifies me.
You have read previous posts by me about my growing love of soccer. I thoroughly enjoy the sport when it is played at the highest level. I yearn for the day when soccer is as important here as the other major sports and we can compete on the highest levels internationally. Exactly what needs to be done for this is a discussion for another day but part of the problem is we do not have the level of officiating needed to ensure that games are fair, well played and the skill of players is allowed to shine through. Once this is resolved we will be able to go a long way toward building the type of sport that Americans can enjoy on the highest level without having to look to Europe.
As I go to sleep tonight I will be thinking about Elizabeth Lambert and doing everything I can to make sure that my daughters do the opposite of her and conduct themselves with grace, honor and professionalism at all times as young women and on into adulthood. Oh yeah, and making sure they do not end up on a stripper pole or on YouPorn either.
Elizabeth Lambert played for the University of New Mexico's woman's soccer team against Brigham Young University in a Mountain West Conference semifinal. Her play, if you can call it that was so horrendously dirty that it has launched a firestorm of YouTube clips. Check the video out here. Go on, I'll wait. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Watch it now. Great. Your reaction was likely one of two things: shock or laughter. Shall we take a closer look?
For you soccer newbies, players are issued either a yellow card (caution) or red card (instant ejection) for play or conduct deemed dangerous or detrimental to the sport. A player who is issued two yellow cards during the same match is instantly ejected. If I told you that after all of these incidents she was not even ejected would you believe me? Let's break down the action.
Incident 1: Lambert puts a solid forearm into the back of her opponent. If an official were to see this a yellow card is likely issue. This could be eligible for a red card if it happened later but early in the match a yellow is more appropriate.
Incident 2: Lambert wildly kicks at a ball near her opponent's chest and roughly impedes said opponent's progress and brings her to the ground. This could bring out a yellow card but would most likely be a very stern warning from the official that anything else would mean receiving a card.
Incident 3: Lambert completely wipes out her opponent with an out of control tackle, barely making any real attempt at the ball. This would almost certainly be a yellow card, which at this point should have been her second yellow card, thus leading to her ejection. Details are cloudy but I believe Lambert indeed received a yellow card for this.
Incident 4: Lambert pulls a BYU player to the ground by her ponytail. Clearly this qualifies for a red card and disqualification, regardless of what point of the game this happened in or what had preceded it. Strangely this was not caught by the referee or any of the sideline officials who have the authority to stop the game, confer with the lead official, and assure that the appropriate action is taken.
Even more incredulous is Lambert's reaction to the outrage her play has caused. She states that more attention has been given to her because she's a woman. I don't believe this is so. This would have made mainstream sports highlight shows regardless of whether it was a man or a woman who had done this. She also states that her rough play was just hard play in the context of a soccer match and that casual fans wouldn't understand. I consider myself to be a slightly more than casual fan of soccer and I have never seen this before. Lastly, she states that the video makes her look like a monster and this is not the way she plays. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on this to a degree. I have not seen any other games she has played but I have not heard of any other incidents such as this one. For this game, however, it is clear that she was intent on playing aggressively and doing whatever it takes to win. Whatever is right.
I have never seen rough play as blatant as Lambert's performance in this game. You will see one incident from time to time but never repeatedly. Why? Because officials usually are competent enough to stop this sort of play after the first incident! We documented 4 separate incidents where she could have received a yellow card and 2 where she could have received a red card. How so many incidents were overlooked by three officials over the course of the game mystifies me.
You have read previous posts by me about my growing love of soccer. I thoroughly enjoy the sport when it is played at the highest level. I yearn for the day when soccer is as important here as the other major sports and we can compete on the highest levels internationally. Exactly what needs to be done for this is a discussion for another day but part of the problem is we do not have the level of officiating needed to ensure that games are fair, well played and the skill of players is allowed to shine through. Once this is resolved we will be able to go a long way toward building the type of sport that Americans can enjoy on the highest level without having to look to Europe.
As I go to sleep tonight I will be thinking about Elizabeth Lambert and doing everything I can to make sure that my daughters do the opposite of her and conduct themselves with grace, honor and professionalism at all times as young women and on into adulthood. Oh yeah, and making sure they do not end up on a stripper pole or on YouPorn either.
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