Erica Coleman1709 N Milton St., Muncie IN, 47303574-485-6482eecoleman@bsu.edu

For Immediate ReleaseApril 11, 2018

Collegiate Futbol’s Most Aggressive Athlete

Imagine getting thrown to the ground by the ponytail you’ve grown out since you were in the seventh grade. I’ve played in many aggressive games of soccer and the thought of this happening had never crossed my mind.

When I was a young girl, probably only thirteen-years-old, I remember my favorite soccer coach advising my team to grab the opponent by the back of the shirt, pulling the girl closer as you catch up to her. “Make sure you’re close enough to her that the referees don’t see what you’re doing”. Many people don’t recognize it, but soccer can be a very dirty game, especially when you reach the college level. I’ve witnessed plenty of dirty plays over my twelve-year soccer career and I’ve played a role in my fair share of them but I’ve never seen anything like the work of Elizabeth Lambert.

American defender Elizabeth Lambert from the University of New Mexico has made it very clear that she will go to aggressive lengths as long as it meant her soccer team will chalk up another victory. The twenty-year-old athlete made some outrageously aggressive plays during her match against team rival Brigham Young University. Immediately following the game, the public was able to watch a video compilation of Lambert intentionally kicking girls in the face, shoving elbows, throwing punches and dragging someone down by her ponytail.

Interestingly, the video ignited conversations and debates about sexism in the sports world. Several writers who covered the story referred to it as a “catfight” and suggested that females can’t play rough in sports the way males can.

Of course, Lambert faced consequences from the New Mexico Athletic Program, which included a two-game suspension. Several news conferences were set up in order to speak with Lambert publicly. She was a no-show to all of them. Her University’s athletic program and coaching staff stood behind her and Athletic Director Paul Krebs made the following statement… “the attention, the number of hits, the number of times the video has been played, I think she’s just trying to move on, and I think we have an obligation to help her move on.”