Daily Skiff

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It's amazing how some hair pulling and national attention can expose a serious problem.

For those of you who haven't heard, University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert was suspended indefinitely for actions in a game against BYU on Nov. 5. These actions included pulling a player on the ground by her hair and kicking another in the face with the ball while the player was on the ground.

What is disgusting about this situation is not what Lambert did. You're always going to have whackos who take things too far in any sport. The worst part is what those around the incident did that truly is violating.

First of all, where were the referees in all of this? Many blatant fouls were committed besides the two I mentioned above by Lambert. However, she was only yellow carded once for kicking the ball into a tripped player's face.

Second, very few in the sport appear to be truly surprised by this. The consensus appears to be that Lambert took things too far, but not by much. One women's soccer player told me, "That's how soccer is. She just got caught."

What in the world is going on in NCAA women's soccer? It would not be surprising if incidents worse than this have gone on that haven't been reported. College women's soccer is not exactly the most watched sport in the U.S. However, the pitiful response of several players and coaches appears to show there is a deeper, darker story in this whole incident. One that an investigative journalist should definitely take up.

Now some would say that since this woman was indefinitely suspended, this is a good response and shows that the school and Mountain West Conference are handling the matter correctly. However, this all happened after the video of Lambert committing these actions hit the Internet and became national news. During the game, the Lobos coach took no action at all.

Indefinite suspension does not necessary mean a long one either. The team will probably just wait until this dies down and let this player back on the field.

After seeing the video of this, I didn't think this could get worse than it did until I saw her so-called apology.

"This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am," Lambert said.

If this isn't indicative of your character, then what is? People always say people show their true colors under pressure. This obviously shows the true character of this woman.

The rest of the press release is the most processed, fake apology I have ever read as well. The paper that the apology was printed on would not even be good enough to be used as toilet paper.

Soccer is most definitely a contact sport, as are many others. Dirty play has gone on in sports since they were invented. However, the line between physical and dangerous was definitely crossed here. Fortunately, this incident has gotten the attention it deserves, which has forced people to further investigate the sport.

Michael Lauck is a sophomore broadcast journalism and economics major from Houston.

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