Soccer Player Suspended for Pulling Hair

[Geoff_M]

actually, yes it is.

fifa, ncaa/nisoa, and the high school federation all agree that violent conduct and fighting is cause for ejecting a player.

this isn't hockey.

I got the picture, I was a registered AYSO ref for three years. But look at what I was actually responding to:

she should have been red carded the first time she touched the other player

So you're telling me it's normal to red card a player the first time they "touch" another player beyond incidental contact?!?!?

 

[Sparx]

I got the picture, I was a registered AYSO ref for three years. But look at what I was actually responding to:So you're telling me it's normal to red card a player the first time they "touch" another player beyond incidental contact?!?!?

oh please. are we knit picking at word choice now?

she punched another player in the back, she kicked another player, she pulled another players hair SO hard that the player fell to the ground. She should have been ejected, and if you were a coach, you shouldn't condone dirty playing.

 

[MICKEY88]

watch this video and pay close attention to the times she was attacked first...,,elbowed then she punched,,then she is tackled by the same girl who tried to give her a frontal wedgie, no wonder she took the girl down...

it appears that #7 and #21 were provoking her and laughing about it..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LPIUI_CY44#watch-main-area

 

[bubie2.5]

agree. Byu is not innocent and they looked pretty comfortable being able to play dirty.

ITA! I think they were provoking her to get her out of the game.

 

[minkydog]

she should have been red carded the first time she touched the other player, it should not have been allowed to go on to have her pulling hair.

she doesn't need a suspension, she needs to be dropped from the team. she makes her team, her coach, and her school look HORRIBLE.

a group is only as strong as its weakest link, and with one bad player, you bring the whole team down to her level.

I agree, this was out of bounds behavior and made her team and coaching staff*and her school!* look bad. Even if someone else had been elbowing her or pulling her hair, there is never an okay reason to return the favor. It's not a legal soccer move under any circumstances. If she was getting beat up, she should have complained to her coach who would surely have acted on it.

Personally, I think she needs to be kicked off the team and any sports scholarship she may be receiving should be rescinded. She was the epitome of bad sportsmanship.

 

[agnes!]

watch this video and pay close attention to the times she was attacked first...,,elbowed then she punched,,then she is tackled by the same girl who tried to give her a frontal wedgie, no wonder she took the girl down...

it appears that #7 and #21 were provoking her and laughing about it..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LPIUI_CY44#watch-main-area

There's no way to tell from some little snippets or footage and that particular (comedy?) YouTube channel took footage from the ESPN SportsCenter report, which in and of itself was a less than 2 minute compilation of an entire game.

I'd almost like to watch footage of the entire game at this point.

agnes!

 

[Geoff_M]

oh please. are we knit picking at word choice now?

she punched another player in the back, she kicked another player, she pulled another players hair SO hard that the player fell to the ground. She should have been ejected, and if you were a coach, you shouldn't condone dirty playing.

I'm sorry but the difference between "touched" and "punched" is a little more than just a nuance.

I'm also not condoning her play in the least. She deserved to get ejected and be forced to set out a couple of games. But quite frankly what she did was no more shocking than the Bears player that grabbed the face mask of the player he had just tackled and then punched him in the head on Sunday. Both worthy of ejection and a fine or suspension... But "banning for" life, get real.

 

[Pumbaa_]

She seemed so casual about her violence too

If this had happened anywhere else but a sports field she would have been arrested for assault

 

[DianeV]

Geoff, again you are thinking hockey and not youth or college soccer. You may expect violent plays in hockey and they get away with alot. Depending on what the first 'touch' was it could certainly have been worthy of a red card. Soccer is a contact sport but its not supposed to be a dangerous sport and that is why they have fouls and red and yellow cards to stop those things.

 

[Geoff_M]

Geoff, again you are thinking hockey and not youth or college soccer. You may expect violent plays in hockey and they get away with alot. Depending on what the first 'touch' was it could certainly have been worthy of a red card. Soccer is a contact sport but its not supposed to be a dangerous sport and that is why they have fouls and red and yellow cards to stop those things.

Where in the world did I say anything along the lines that punching or hitting was OK in scoccer a la hockey??? I've said quite the opposite. Yes, I completely understand that a player can and should get a red card if the first "touch" is a punch thrown upside the head. But in the statement I was adressing the degree was not qualified.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

On top of that, pulling the hair like that isn't very far up the "injury potential" scale compared to things like head butting, and punches to the head. I mean the analog in football is "only" a 15 yard penalty.. though I suppose in an extreme case it might get you booted from the game too.

I have a totally different opinion about the hair pulling. When you see it in slow motion, it does look like hair pulling. About 2 secs in, she snaps the girls head back. This could have easily broken her neck and paralyzed.
The majority of the clips in different games show this violent behavior is par for the course, and they are unprovoked by the other players. And like a PP said, she didn't write this note...her lawyer did.
I'm not one who suggests lawsuits as the solution to anything, but if I were the ponytail girls parents, I would file charges for assault.
As far as comparing this issue to football, thats apples and oranges. Football players wear helmets and neck protection. Soccer players have no such protection, leaving them vulnerable to head and neck issues during a normal game. With the violent girl on the field, I'm thinking the chances of getting seriously injured skyrocket.
"Headbutting and punches to the head" have killed people. It doesn't take a major impact either. When Natasha Richardson got injured, all she did was fall on the ice. Yet she died. Head and neck injuries can kill or paralyze. To me, thats pretty darn high up in the injury potential. In fact, I can't think of anything worse than head/neck injuries

 

[jlmarr]

She should be banned AND kicked out of school.

Sign her up for Roller Derby.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

Sign her up for Roller Derby.

Sounds like where she belongs to me...and for anyone wondering why I think she should be kicked out of school, as an athlete she's supposed to represent her school. She's not exactly a great representative for the University of New Mexico (and if you can be kicked out for violating an honor code and cheating like you can at the two universities I have attended, you should be able to be kicked out for this kind of behavior as well.)

 

[Carly_Roach]

Her response:

"I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary," Lambert said. "This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them.

"I am especially sorry to BYU and the BYU women's soccer players that were personally affected by my actions. I have the utmost respect for the BYU women's soccer program and its players."​

She should never step foot on a soccer field again. And don't tell me it's "out of character". Please. Heated situations reveal true character.

Yeah, I caught that, too. Talk is cheap; actions speak louder than words. Punching, kicking, and yanking another player to the ground by her hair IS indicative of your character.

It's a sport, not life and death.

 

[KAMLEM]

watch this video and pay close attention to the times she was attacked first...,,elbowed then she punched,,then she is tackled by the same girl who tried to give her a frontal wedgie, no wonder she took the girl down...

it appears that #7 and #21 were provoking her and laughing about it..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LPIUI_CY44#watch-main-area

I don't see her being tackled anywhere in this video. She may have been elbowed, but that doesn't warrant her retaliation. I don't think the girl was trying to give her a wedgie. The NM girl was all over the BYU girl so I think the BYU girl just grabbed her shorts to annoy her.