IT'S hard to know what to think of the damning footage of back-punching, hair-yanking, dangerously-tackling Elizabeth Lambert, whose efforts were captured on video and quickly went viral. Well, apart from ‘holy bejeepers, how did she not break that chick's neck?!'
It's equally hard to answer the subsequent questions asked by non-footballing friends or by guys who have an endless fascination with women and cat fights. Is that what happens when chicks play football? How much does it hurt to get hit in the boobs? And what is it with girls and hair pulling? The answers are: sometimes; like buggery; and I'm wondering that myself.
I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't occasionally a bit of niggle on pitch - I've long stood by the mantra that when you get cleaned up by a guy, it's because they're going for the ball; when you get cleaned up by a girl, particularly on the netball court, it's because they're going for you - but I've never witnessed anything quite so, well, unsporting and brutal. And certainly and refreshingly not in the W-League.
In fact, it hasn't gone unnoticed that the W-League players just get on with the job. There's no diving, no theatrics, and minimal niggle. Tackles are physical, but they're eyes-only-for-the-ball strong and, unless they're really, truly, can't-continue injured, players are up and inserting themselves back into the action so fast even the commentators note that the men could learn a thing or two from them.
And that's perhaps the lesson that should be taken from this. Not that women who play football pull hair, but that most women who play football (or any other sport) don't. At least not so mean-spirited obviously. Former Australian indoor football representatives Vicky Hewitt and Joanne Kopp expressed equal amounts of incredulity at Lambert's ferocious punching, tackling, kicking, face-mooshing, and, of course, hair pulling. Had they personally experienced or dished out such on-pitch, er, tactics? Hardly. Like us, they were amazed at the force expended to yank someone's plait and what sort of damage that would inflict on her neck.
Whether or not she was provoked prior to the incidents (for example, there's a hint of shorts-grabbing preceding the pigtail yank, but it seems mild in comparison to the yank itself), Lambert clearly wasn't thinking of the effects a punch in the back, a hand in the face, or a yank of the plait was going to have on her opponent or herself, much less the wider women's footballing world. But while we all find the footage equal parts amusing and disturbing, it's undeniable that Lambert has done herself and women's football - or just women, in general - some damage.
Like our very own famous-for-all-the-wrong-reasons viral star Clare Werbeloff, her actions have - ‘chk chk yank' - exploded in her face and, despite being ‘deeply and wholeheartedly regretful' for her actions, Lambert has been suspended from football indefinitely. Long-haired female American college footballers must now be giddy with relief. And Lambert has lost - or will lose -friends, respect, and jobs, with a quick google ringing anger management and does-not-play-well-with-others alarm bells.
Admittedly men are less likely to have grabbable plaits, but it's unlikely that the story would have been such big news had it occurred in the men's league. Frustratingly, though, any attention paid to women's sport is all too often not paid to the sport at all.
The W-League, with its ‘football with style' message, has worked hard to spotlight the sport. The novelty of women playing football and commonly mis-held perceptions such as that it's a sport for rough girls who pull hair aren't anywhere to be seen. But thanks to Lambert, the focus will, for at least a while, be on whether any hair yanking or off-the-ball action occurs in matches rather than how skilful the players are and how many goals they score.
Perhaps it'll work in the W-League's favour, though, with more people (including, say, the Oman players who contributed their bit to climate change by overworking the fossil fuel-burning stretcher cart in their Asian Cup Qualifier against Australia on the weekend) noticing just how no nonsense, athletic, and skilful the W-League players are. Or, if nothing else, Lambert's actions will prompt long-haired girls to consider fashioning their hair not in easy-to-yank plaits but in less grab-able up styles.
* Thanks to fellow blogger Stama for bringing the video to my attention.