All,
The relevance of this incident should be obvious, so no introductions needed. Indeed, even in a simplistic sense, when is the last time you heard anything about women's college soccer? The first article from the NYT on Elizabeth Lambert's now famous (apparently the video has gone viral) behavior during this game is also interesting, in that it addresses the meta-issue regarding the double-standard for women and men in the sports world.
I encourage comments, but keep perspective. The issue under discussion, both in our context and in the national media, is not whether such behavior is permissible or appropriate. What is of interest here is the presence, or absence, of different treatment based on gender roles.
Cheers,
-W.
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The double standard for men's and women's sports is undeniable. If you look at the situation from the general view of sports, genders aside, her actions may not have been the most sportsmanlike, but not out of the norm. Soccer, as well as most other sports, is a very physical game. It's unusual to walk away from the field without being a little roughed up. Male soccer players get carded all the time for committing more blatant fouls. I don't understand why Lambert is getting so much heat from the media for doing something that occurs in men's sports all the time. Some football players get away with face-masking, so what's the big deal if Lambert pulled a ponytail?
ReplyDeleteWhile you do make a point, you must also consider another perspective. If you differentiate between women's and men's soccer, I think you would agree this is very out of the ordinary for the women's game while you admit yourself that these things happen all the time in men's soccer.
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