This has been all over the Internet recently: during a BYU vs. New Mexico Women’s Mountain West Conference college tournament game one New Mexico player, Elizabeth Lambert (#15), yanks another girl to the ground by her ponytail! And that’s not all, if you watch the whole video, it’s a very… nasty… game for Lambert. Or should I say, for the opposing team members who have to challenge her?
Every team has that one player who is more aggressive, sometimes downright nasty, who always complains to the ref that it wasn’t her fault and who you don’t always enjoy challenging even in practice. I had one or two on my team growing up, and I had one on my college powder-puff team. Most of the time, we just roll our eyes and move on. That’s just how she is and only sometimes can a referee handle it and see it.
But where is the line? When should young girls be spoken to? Disciplined? And by whom? Elbows, tripping, shirt pulling, and other little dirty tricks are all over any sport, just as Julie Foudy acknowledges in her short commentary on this video. Aren’t sports supposed to teach girls to be competitive, self-confident, self-challenging, good sports, teammates, and otherwise upstanding citizens in society? (Not to mention have fun, which was a huge thing for me!) On one Youtube video of the incident, someone commented: “whatever all of you are sayin omg shes crazy pfft not really the girl was retailiating AFTER the other girl had elbowed her dont think she was out of line at all.” Seriously? It’s okay to retaliate? I’m sure there are TONS of opinions on this, but to me, it is absolutely unacceptable. Retaliation should come in the form of not letting the “first move” phase you, or scoring, or taking the ball away. Other comments blame the referees for not noticing or reprimanding her other offenses. So what’s going on, here?
As a result of this attention, Lambert’s coach, suspended her indefinitely, saying “Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship.” Duh! But would she still have seen punishment if it hadn’t garnered so much attention in the media? I have heard of many coaches who encourage this kind of play if a player can get away with it. Lambert makes comments like, “My actions were uncalled for,” and, “I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation.” But is this even an excuse? Was the whole game a heated situation? When we get frustrated, on or off the field, is it appropriate to take it out on others?
I know men’s sports have dirty plays, crotch shots, and appalling moments, too, and honestly I think the reason this clip has been getting so much attention is because she pulled her down by her ponytail. Something very feminine. How come dirty plays that guys do aren’t as sensationalized as this? Is it because women aren’t supposed to be dirty players?
