Soccer bully

Is it wrong that I’ve watched the Elizabeth Lambert video about 20 times? I admit — I’m totally fascinated by the footage of last week’s BYU/University of New Mexico women’s soccer match.

Elizabeth Lambert, a U. of New Mexico defender, pulled out all the stops at the game by kicking, slapping, shoving, tripping, pushing and even yanking a BYU player’s ponytail hard enough to haul her to the ground.

Lambert’s antics made her instantly infamous on YouTube and sportscasts nationwide. If you haven’t seen the video, it’s definitely worth watching here.

Lambert was suspended indefinitely following the release of the footage, and she issued an admirable apology. But as a parent, I’m still really bothered by this video and this behavior.

I guess I’m wondering how you prevent your own children from becoming bullies like this. Sure, this behavior was on the soccer field, and some rough play is expected, but this was bullying in its purest form. She was trying to intimidate other players and get her way. And no one just becomes a bully overnight; it’s usually the work of years and years of getting away with this behavior, or even being praised for it.

I’m glad Lambert was suspended so at least kids watching the video on YouTube know that she didn’t get away with it just because she’s a star athlete. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening to Lambert in the coming weeks once the outrage over the video dies down. What do you think is an appropriate consequence?

More importantly, how do we make sure our children don’t fall into the bully trap? How can we teach the value of winning while also instilling the far more crucial values of sportsmanship and fair play?