Classless conduct

Update: New Mexico has suspended Elizabeth Lambert indefinitely, with its vice president for athletics calling her actions “completely inappropriate” and saying “there is no way to defend her actions,” according to an ESPN report. Lambert has also issued an apology.

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Ever had your neck nearly snapped during a surprise ponytail yank? How about being slapped in midair? Or tripped and sent careening to the ground?

That’s the ambush a University of New Mexico soccer player unleashed on the Brigham Young Cougars during a Mountain West Conference tournament game on Thursday. All that, and her team still lost.

The video truly makes me sick to my stomach. I was an athlete not that long ago, and I’ve experienced my share of dirty players and poor sports. None of them compare to Lobos junior Elizabeth Lambert, though.

After watching ESPN’s and The Mtn.’s replays of the game’s highlights, Lambert appears to have been retaliating for a couple of things: One, for an elbow to her chest delivered by a BYU player. Two, a hard collision between the Lobo goaltender and a Cougar player.

According to the boxscore, she did receive one yellow card. I really do not understand though how the blatant red-card-worthy foul(s) went unnoticed.

I get trying to give your team a spark when it is losing. Throw a little extra mustard onto a hit, that’s fine. Even some aggressive jostling is all right, and who would notice a stray elbow or ankle kick?

But this young woman took her prolonged physical play far beyond just isolated “unsportsmanlike” or “flagrant” occurrences.

Trust me. When I was in the second grade, my best friend pulled my ponytail as hard as she could while we waited in line at the water fountain. I never saw it coming, and it knocked the breath out of my lungs. I imagine it is the female equivalent of a guy being kicked between the legs. OK, maybe not that bad. But close.

If Florida’s Brandon Spikes can be suspended half a one game for attempting to gouge a player’s eyes out, and Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount can be sidelined for an entire season for punching a guy after a hard-fought loss, then surely the league will review game tape and punish her in a way that sets an example. Not just for her, but for players in all contact sports.

The heat of game action is intense, and no doubt Lambert is a fierce competitor. But you do have a choice in whether you play with class and respect.

A question of sportsmanship and hypocrisy

Losing a game is never a good feeling. Especially when it’s by triple digits.

In a girls high school basketball game last week, The Covenant School slaughtered Dallas Academy, 100-0.

One hundred points to none.

According to a story in the Dallas Morning News, Covenant kept the heat on Dallas Academy into the fourth quarter and eased up once they hung a hundred on ‘em.

Covenant coach Micah Grimes later apologized. He has asked TAPPS to forfeit the win and told Dallas Academy he was sorry.

The apology seems to be nothing more than tacked-on sportsmanship. It is the coach’s responsibility to direct the game if it is getting out of hand. We all make mistakes and use poor judgment at times, but he should have pulled his starters and let the girls who never get to play see some minutes. Granted, the competition wasn’t great, but letting your starters rack up stats like that is not OK.

Speaking of competition, did I mention yet that Dallas Academy is made up of students with learning disabilities and hasn’t won a game in four seasons?

OK, so they’re not in wheelchairs or anything (to my knowledge). Dyslexia or ADD never stopped a lot of very successful people from making it big. But that doesn’t help Covenant’s situation.

Let me interject a random question here: Is there no “run-rule” or running clock in basketball? If you’re down by 50 at the half, why not just call it a game? If anyone can enlighten me, please do.

Anyway, the most important aspect of this mess is that this game was played between Christian schools. One acted like it, and one didn’t.

The Dallas Academy athletic director accepted Covenant’s apology and wished the girls the best. I cannot say for sure if he has forgiven the coach, but at least  he seems to have the right attitude.

I cannot say the same for Grimes. Maybe he should have brushed up on Covenant’s official Athletics Program goals, especially Nos. 1, 6 and 8.

1.To enable Covenant student/athletes, coaches, and spectators to glorify God and be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

6. To foster discernment and wisdom in the use of one’s God-given talents.

8. To build Christ-like character traits. …

No. 1 and 8 were obviously violated in the blowout, but the most egregious is No. 6.

Beating up on kids with learning disabilities 100-0 doesn’t qualify as “discernment and wisdom in the use of one’s God-given talents.” Hopefully Grimes has learned his lesson and will think WWJD before leading his team onto the floor again.

I saw on SportsCenter tonight that Mark Cuban has invited Dallas Academy to a Mavs game, which was a nice gesture.

I wonder if Clay Bennett will invite ASTEC Charter School of Oklahoma City to a Thunder game. ASTEC was defeated by Depew, also in girls basketball, on Thursday night. The score was 95-5. (Unofficially, by the way. That’s just how the score was called in to us.)

P.S. The top play on SportsCenter tonight was a sweet dunk by Oral Roberts’ Kevin Ford! Nice to see the local team get big-time exposure. (Even if all those yellow Mabee Center seats were also exposed.) I couldn’t find a link, but I found two other Ford dunks from this month, so apparently he does this all the time. It was still cool.

Forthcoming: A blog on sharing, part II. This time, much more local.