Elizabeth Lambert is Sorry That Your Sexism Made You Overreact to Her Brutish Play

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↵Elizabeth Lambert, the University of New Mexico soccer player who was suspended indefinitely following several violent incidents she committed in a game against BYU on Nov. 5,

to speak for the first time about what happened. ↵↵And while she expressed shock and regret for how she carried herself on the field, rather than accepting full responsibility and attempting to move on, she wants to make the story in part about the media’s portrayal of women’s athletics.↵

↵↵⇥“I definitely feel because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it,” Lambert said. “It’s more expected for men to go out there and be rough. The female, we’re still looked at as, Oh, we kick the ball around and score a goal. But it’s not. We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to. The physical aspect has maybe increased over the years. I’m not saying it’s for the bad or it’s been too overly aggressive. It’s a game. Sports are physical.”↵↵↵I’m not so sure that the fact that a woman was engaged in deliberately violent play brought the footage undue attention so much as the fact that is was so brazenly outlandish. Granted, it was a story with easy appeal for media in a sport that receives, at best, sparse coverage. Shocking over-the-top violence in sports is going to be noticed, whether it’s done by a man or a woman. Are there those who are shocked to see women’s sports be so chippy? Perhaps. But they’re the exception. Most of us have long accepted the fact that women’s sports aren’t dainty, aimless affairs. While it’s true that the hair-pulling involved in Lambert’s highlight reel of attacks gave a few wags fodder to make sexist jokes, that doesn’t mean the episode was covered with a viewpoint dismissive of women’s soccer as sport. To suggest the reaction to her dirty play is merely the result of condescension is a weak attempt to deflect criticism.↵

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