The Soccer Game
A women's soccer tournament game between BYU (Brigham Young University) and UNM (University of New Mexico) two weeks ago is getting a lot of press. This is due to the conduct of one of the UNM players,Elizabeth Lambert. She was caught on film hitting, kicking and pulling the hair of players on the other team. This was posted on You Tube where it has been viewed a lot.
The opinion posts are full of people who want Ms Lambert kicked out of school, kicked off all teams permanently, and jailed for assault. I can't begin to remember all the names she was called polite and impolite.
I finally found the voice of reason in a column written by Darnell Dickson, sports editor for the Provo Daily Herald. Provo, by the way, is the home of BYU. He made three good points that I want to share with you.
The coach of the New Mexico team is Kit Vela, who has nine years of coaching experience. He wondered why Coach Vela, faced with a player who was obviously losing control of herself, did not take the player out of the game. It's not like it's never been done before. Most people who have watched sports have seen a player pulled out for that reason. A person who is out of control angry does not play well. (My thought.)
He also assigns part of the blame to the officials who failed to catch her behavior and apply the appropriate penalty. He also remarks that the officials actions are being being reviewed and if any type of punishment is applied it will be kept secret. Unlike Ms Lambert whose video, according to the column has had over three million hits and her penalty will be made public.
He points out that the BYU team was not an innocent victim. Thank you. Everyone notices Ms Lambert punching her opponent in the back, but did anyone see that opponent throw her elbow into Ms Lambert. If you look at the pony tail pulling incident you will see a BYU player grabbing a handful of Ms Lambert's shorts before it happens. I'm not trying to defend her here, I'm pointing out that she, at least in those two instances didn't just walk up and start beating on the player.
Ms Lambert has apologized for her actions, regrets them and is appalled because that is not how she really is. This is being dismissed by several posts that I have read. I believe her.
There is a lot of pressure in tournament play. Schools derive a lot of income from their sports programs. The difference between a winning and losing season could be the difference between a school making its budget or not. Schools who win championships and tournaments get more money for scholarships and facilities. It also brings prestige to the school in a way academic accomplishments do not. A winning team makes it easier to recruit good players to build better teams that earn more money for the school.
I, like Mr. Dickson, feel sorry for Ms Lambert, who is taking a very public beating over this while the other parties who contributed to this are scuttling out of sight. I hope, for her sake, that the furor dies down soon so that her lapse in judgement doesn't ruin the rest of her life.
( I used the column 'Lambert being hung out to dry by coach,MWC' ,Darnell Dickson,posted on Yahoo Sports 19 November 2009 to write this column.)
The opinion posts are full of people who want Ms Lambert kicked out of school, kicked off all teams permanently, and jailed for assault. I can't begin to remember all the names she was called polite and impolite.
I finally found the voice of reason in a column written by Darnell Dickson, sports editor for the Provo Daily Herald. Provo, by the way, is the home of BYU. He made three good points that I want to share with you.
The coach of the New Mexico team is Kit Vela, who has nine years of coaching experience. He wondered why Coach Vela, faced with a player who was obviously losing control of herself, did not take the player out of the game. It's not like it's never been done before. Most people who have watched sports have seen a player pulled out for that reason. A person who is out of control angry does not play well. (My thought.)
He also assigns part of the blame to the officials who failed to catch her behavior and apply the appropriate penalty. He also remarks that the officials actions are being being reviewed and if any type of punishment is applied it will be kept secret. Unlike Ms Lambert whose video, according to the column has had over three million hits and her penalty will be made public.
He points out that the BYU team was not an innocent victim. Thank you. Everyone notices Ms Lambert punching her opponent in the back, but did anyone see that opponent throw her elbow into Ms Lambert. If you look at the pony tail pulling incident you will see a BYU player grabbing a handful of Ms Lambert's shorts before it happens. I'm not trying to defend her here, I'm pointing out that she, at least in those two instances didn't just walk up and start beating on the player.
Ms Lambert has apologized for her actions, regrets them and is appalled because that is not how she really is. This is being dismissed by several posts that I have read. I believe her.
There is a lot of pressure in tournament play. Schools derive a lot of income from their sports programs. The difference between a winning and losing season could be the difference between a school making its budget or not. Schools who win championships and tournaments get more money for scholarships and facilities. It also brings prestige to the school in a way academic accomplishments do not. A winning team makes it easier to recruit good players to build better teams that earn more money for the school.
I, like Mr. Dickson, feel sorry for Ms Lambert, who is taking a very public beating over this while the other parties who contributed to this are scuttling out of sight. I hope, for her sake, that the furor dies down soon so that her lapse in judgement doesn't ruin the rest of her life.
( I used the column 'Lambert being hung out to dry by coach,MWC' ,Darnell Dickson,posted on Yahoo Sports 19 November 2009 to write this column.)
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