Facebook App
From Rivals.com
Girls in a Rhode Island high school soccer game were involved in an all-out brawl that would make even their male counterparts blush. And it surfaced after a video of a New Mexico women's soccer player became an Internet sensation for its stunning examples of poor sportsmanship, if not on-field violence.
Some see these incidents as just another example of a sports world out of control. Dan Lebowitz, the executive director for the center of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston, sees it as a potential learning lesson.
"A lot of times people will sweep it under the rug and say it's where we are moving in our culture," he said.
He disagrees.
"This has to do with leadership and the code of ethics that our coaches set," he said. "Maybe we're not doing a good job at modeling behavior or setting ethical standards that need to be followed. That moves up and down the ladder."
Both on and off the field. The Rhode Island incident - between Woonsocket and Tolman - started on the field, but it made its way to the stands. Adults scuffled in the stands during the awards ceremony, no less.
Action has been swift. The University of New Mexico suspended Elizabeth Lambert indefinitely the day after the game. The incident happened in the school's final game of the year, but it is unclear if Lambert, a junior, will be allowed to return to the team next season.
Some say this is perhaps the only unfortunate part of Title IX. Girls are not only gaining only the positive aspects of sports but some of the negative ones, too.
Lebowitz said this negative can be made a positive.
"In all aspects of life there is a flipside or an underbelly," he said. "This (violence, poor sportsmanship) isn't something that wasn't going to happen.
"The question is: How do we respond to it? Is it something that is correctable? How do we change the culture of how we address athletes and what we accept as positive behavior?"
After the game in Rhode Island, Woonsocket head coach Kathleen Fagnant did not take full responsibility for her team's actions. "I'm not going to take the fall for that," she said in a WPRI report.
Lebowitz said punishments for these acts must be quick and harsh.
He feels the Internet - which may help increase these acts of unsportsmanlike conduct by showing them to the world - can also help prevent them.
"We live in a media world," he said. "If discipline is handed out in a harsh way, it would get around.
"Twenty-five years ago, no one outside of Rhode Island would have ever heard of this. Now it's known in 15 minutes. But there is a plus side. If we hand out strict discipline for these acts, that would get out, too. It would send a message that participation isn't a given. It isn't just a right that can't be challenged."
The Center for Sport in Society, now in its 25th year, hopes to be a leader in improving sports.
"Leadership in sport can move social justice along," he said. "You start by figuring out how to set up standards for coaches and setting certain policies for sportsmanship that must be followed."
Cell Phone Alerts
These are most certainly ugly incidents, however the punishments should be clear, as I would assume those schools have an athletic code of conduct. This is certainly something that is correctable. Coaches need to set the tone of their program and enforce rules. Star players should not be treated any differently than the last person coming off the bench, even if that means the performance of the team must be sacrficed.
At the end of the day, we all need to remember that this is a game. Players will most likely not remember the scores of each game, but they will remember the life lessons that are taught. I pride myself that my fellow soccer coaches at my school full believe this and we run our program with that philosophy as the foundation of all we do. Sure, we definitely want to win, but not at all costs, especially at the underclass levels. We want to develop good soccer players and young adults. The soccer field is my outdoor classroom.
My general observation over the years is that player attitudes during a game corresponds closely and is reflective of the attitude of their coach. If the coach stress fair play and good sportsmanship you generally see that in the players .... and you generally see the reverse from teams where the coach is something less than a "humanitarian".
At the same time I have observed some tensions in a game escalate quickly when the refs were not controlling player contact appropriately and when needed and fairly on both sides. Sometimes the refs are not paying attention and seem to just want to get the game over and go home and things can easily get out of hand very quickly. I know that they don't have an easy job but they should have control of the game. None of us likes to see "tippy tap" fouls called but at the same time the the refs should be prepared to get those yellow and red cards out and send people off to keep the game under control.
Elizabeth Lambert is a junior at the University of New Mexico, and plays for their soccer team the Lobos originally from California (too bad for California). So, this loser knows they are going in to a game that they will most likely lose and since they do not have the talent to score they resort to this kind of play, it has very minor thought to it than let’s say passisng the ball through your opponents defense and scoring a goal.
The other issue is the where were the referees, were they all older white men with their tongues out, enamored and unable to call the game objectively (this game had so many penalties that did not get called), I mean what are they getting paid to do. Who has paid these guys off? Do we have to change the game where only women referees can call women games. After watching the video someone was paid off, that is my conclusion.
And Lizzy, watch you back and please stay out of soccer (you real should be banned, the game does not need people like you in it), so many will be gunning for you now. Who knows maybe you were just drumming up business for your “Occupational Therapy practice”, yah good luck with that, I doubt your bed side manner is any different from your sportsmanship.