I see that my post on Elizabeth Lambert a few days ago has generated a lot of interest, judging by my visitors' log and the comments. To the new visitors, welcome to the site and have a look around. I cover CONCACAF in general, but also devote attention to the soccer scene in the USA -- professional for the most part, with some occasional forays into the areas that feed into MLS and the lower leagues.
I've been thinking a lot about this Lambert affair, and the more I think about it, the angrier I get. But I'm not angry at Elizabeth Lambert. Elizabeth Lambert is not the issue here. She is not the first player, and neither will she be the last one, to make a hot-headed and utterly foolish play on the field to the detriment of the team. My issue is with the match referees and ultimately with the youth and collegiate soccer cultures that failed this young woman.
My main point is this: if the referee had done his job properly, we never would have heard of Elizabeth Lambert.
If the referee had done his job and applied the rules correctly and properly, Lambert might have watched herself on the field during that game. But if not, she would have received a red card and an early trip to the locker rooms. Yes, she would have put her team in a serious disadvantage, but she would have learned an important lesson. She would have learned that her actions are unacceptable on a soccer field. (And it seems that her teammates and the general public needed to learn that lesson as well, given the yells of encouragement she was drawing from her teammates at every challenge.) She might have been suspended for an additional match or more (I'm not sure what the NCAA regulations are for suspensions from a red card or accumulation of yellows), with perhaps some additional bench time by the head coach, but that would have been it. Lesson learned for next time.
But more importantly, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY!
Now, don't get me wrong. University of New Mexico athletics were correct to give that kind of punishment in light of what happened during the match. But they are doing the MWC's work for them. The situation should never have progressed to this point. It is not "poor sportsmanship" or "uncontrolled anger" that is the issue here. To me those are red herrings. The issue here is poor refereeing, incompetent refereeing at that, and the fact that the MWC has not investigated the referee's performance in that match tells me that either they don't care about it, or find the referee's performance just fine. If either one of those conclusions is accurate, then college soccer has a serious problem. (I'm willing to be a substantial amount that the MWC would have cared had this kind of refereeing occurred in a very high-revenue sport like, say, football.)
College soccer isn't the only entity in the soccer development system with looks worse from this episode. What about the youth soccer culture? Does anyone really think that this is the first time that Lambert has done something like this? And judging by the cheers from her mates, does anyone really think that this kind of play on a soccer field is atypical? What exactly is being taught or condoned at UNM? And is this kind of play condoned, or tolerated, or encouraged in the youth ranks? Why hasn't it been rooted out by coaches and reprimanded by match officials?
We really need to find answers to these questions, no matter how uncomfortable the answers might be.
