like chess?

I understand how hard it is to check one’s emotions when playing a sport. I used to really struggle when playing intramural flag football and soccer. I played High School football and when I played flag football in College, well, if a defender caught a pass in my zone and I chased him down (and I always chased them down), I inevitably knocked the guy down. Sometimes I’d grab their flag while diving and knocking them to the ground; sometimes I’d grab their flag while they were lying on the ground. They were never cheap shots, or intended to injure but when you are running full out, chasing a guy trying to avoid you it’s hard to not bring the guy down, especially after years of training to do just that. I was also very aggressive in intramural soccer. I never cheap-shotted anyone, in any sport, but if you wanted the ball and I was near the ball you had to get through me. I even had more than a few collisions running track. I owned the lane and if you were trying to catch me at the wire I wasn’t going to gingerly move aside. And, if I was gaining on someone and he didn’t move aside I wasn’t going to use extra energy to go around him when I could go through him just as well.

So, I get what it’s like when you are playing on pure aggression and you are going full out, but the stuff Elizabeth Lambert does here is designed to hurt, and its pre-meditated. This is more than just letting your emotions get the best of you in the heat of play. This is a strategy; a methodology. When I was in the bottom of a pile-up in football it was not unusual for guys to punch me (I was the ball carrier) try eye gouges, etc. I played hard but I never did that stuff and I had no respect for the players that did. If you did that to me on the bottom of a pile I was going to make sure I got around you and scored on my next carry.

Playing hard and aggressively is fine. Intentionally trying to hurt people is unacceptable. Some of her offenses occured when the ball wasn’t even nearby. Her coach needs to be suspended.

If her coach, team and school do not ostracize her the team should be boo’ed wherevery they play.