Column:
Pay attention to female athletes
Published Nov. 13, 2009
Maybe New Mexico junior defender Elizabeth Lambert was just having a bad day. It happens to the best of us. Easy tasks that should just fall into place simply don't. Those days are never fun, but we wake up the next morning to a new day, and life should carry on as usual.
Unfortunately, after one of the semifinals of the women's soccer Mountain West Conference tournament Nov. 5, a lot of other people associated with Lambert were having a bad day as well.
Perhaps you've seen the highlights on ESPN of that match between her Lobos and BYU where Lambert is shown committing a number of unsportsmanlike actions, highlighted by her takedown of a BYU player via hair.
If you haven't, my initial instinct is to urge you to YouTube it. It is not only frightening but also appalling — two adjectives that should never be used to describe a sporting event.
Yet, I've realized I am part of a problem. Women's sports are often trivialized and overlooked unless something like that catapults them to the forefront of the news and we begin to discuss ethics highlighted by the situation.
Shamefully, I can't even remember the last time I paid attention to women's sports. Wait; yes I can. It was toward the end of the summer when controversy arose surrounding South African runner Caster Semenya, inciting debates over the ethics of gender testing.
The last time I looked into women's athetics was in September when Serena Williams' tantrum at the U.S. Open sparked criticism and discussion over unsportsmanlike conduct implications.
If we (the media) are not giving them headlines over flagrant offenses, some female athletes gain much of our attention through other avenues completely unrelated to sports.
They are on magazine covers all the time, but the last time I could find women athletes on the cover of a Sports Illustrated that was not the swimsuit edition was more than half of a year ago on an April 16 issue commemorating the Connecticut basketball team.
Brandi Chastain made the cover in 1999 after scoring the winning goal in the Women's World Cup, though she is better remembered for her subsequent celebration of ripping off her jersey than her game-winning goal itself.
In fact, if you had asked me about my stance on women's sports before I had given it some thought, I probably would responded with something to the effect of "I think women's sports are great. I am a huge fan of Danica Patrick, Maria Sharapova and Amanda Beard."
A main reason for the discrepancy between the coverage of men and women's sports is that there is very little money in women's athletics compared to men's.
Generally, I am absolutely fascinated by people trying as hard as they possibly can toward a common goal and the results of such efforts.
It doesn't matter if it is just you on the golf course or 70 of you on the football field, if you are a man or a woman, if you are 6 years old or 60.
The bottom line is if you are trying your hardest, I'll enjoy it.