Elizabeth Lambert : New Mexico Soccer Player Suspended For Hair-Pulling (VIDEO)

(AP) PROVO, Utah — A New Mexico soccer player has become an Internet celebrity for the wrong reasons.

Junior defender Elizabeth Lambert was suspended Friday for her infractions the day before during a 1-0 loss to BYU in a Mountain West Conference semifinal. Lambert is seen in video from the game throwing elbows, colliding with several players and then yanking the ponytail of a BYU player who went crashing to the ground.

"My actions were uncalled for," Lambert said in a statement released by New Mexico. "I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation."

Lambert's actions brought unprecedented – and very unwanted – attention to the Mountain West women's soccer tournament.

Video highlights have been airing nationally since Thursday night and not because it was a thrilling game decided on Carlee Payne's header in the 31st minute. The focus of the highlights is more on Lambert's physical play, especially her takedown of BYU's Kassidy Shumway by grabbing her ponytail and pulling her backward.

New Mexico moved quickly to announce Friday that Lambert has been suspended indefinitely. The Mountain West followed with a statement commending the Lobos for acting promptly.

"Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," New Mexico coach Kit Vela said.

Lambert was the only player to be penalized in the game, getting a yellow card in the 77th minute for colliding with a BYU player who was driving toward the Lobos' net. The highlights showed the game was physical in both directions, including an elbow to Lambert's ribs by a BYU player during a dead ball.

Lambert responded with an elbow to the back, one of many regrettable plays she made in the game.

"This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player I am," Lambert said in her apology. "I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them. I am especially sorry to BYU and the BYU women's soccer players that were personally affected by my actions."

Comments

[Dice Klay]

07:21 PM on 11/19/2009

good old fashioned gooning. I want to see more. Keep going Elizabeth. Don't ever let them change you.

[geographycat]

01:33 AM on 11/19/2009

Someone earlier in this post said the hair pull was related to the elbow in the chest. If that is the case, the girl who was thrown to the ground face first should have fractured the other girl’s rib to merit such an action. I don’t know about anybody else, but I don’t like it when someone is climbing up my back and it appeared neither did the girl from BYU. I interprete­d the elbow maneuver as telling the girl in red to get off her back and it was almost friendly compared to what she received. The force of the hair pull was intentiona­l and uncalled for and if that’s how she wants to play, she should take up ice hockey.

[Zenobia1971]

10:00 PM on 11/18/2009

I reviewed the video several times and thought for the first couple of times that Lambert was totally in the wrong. However, after viewing it a couple of more times, I realized that her actions were reactions to the elbow in the chest from the first girl and the second girl trying to give her a wedgie. Absolutely Lambert was wrong and just as absolutely­, so were the other two girls. All three should have been penalized.

[cafemocha]

01:37 AM on 11/18/2009

The real groaner in this is she took the game's name literally.­.. it's called "Sock-Her"­, not "Sock-Him"­.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

06:08 PM on 11/16/2009

The first incident was provoked. She punched the player in the back after she was clearly elbowed in the stomach.


Football is a passionate sport that stirs emotions. Sometimes, things can boil over.

[topguide]

09:30 PM on 11/11/2009

Looks to me the other girls instigated by tugging and elbowing first.

[PrincessAnnie]

09:30 PM on 11/17/2009

I agree. While nothing justifies this girl's actions, these two BYU girls did not simply "accidenta­lly" hit her. Something tells me that Elizabeth Lambert has long had a reputation for this kind of behavior and these girls provoked her know what her response would be.

[lendtolease]

08:15 PM on 11/10/2009

No problem here with the forearm to the back of the girl after she was elbowed. The hair pulling was a little much. I would like to have seen the whole game to see the back and forth of both teams.


That being said-kind of like a very average looking girl having a French accent. She just becomes more attractive by virtue of the accent. Lambert all of a sudden is very H*T!!!

[Sheldongirl]

07:24 PM on 11/10/2009

I have watched this over and over.....s­he was not provoked in the least!!! She was out of control the entire time and something should of been done a number of times during the game.....k­eep her and her attitude off the field!!!!
Hey Maybe her and Legarette Blount shoud get together..­....hehehe

[DariaC]

02:10 AM on 11/18/2009

A crotch grab is 100% provocatio­n, as is the elbow.

[PumpkinPieEqualsAwesome]

01:58 AM on 11/19/2009

The elbow girl...may­be a provocatio­n. But the other girl? I don't think so. I don't think it was a crotch grab or a wedgie. I think Lambert came up behind her and the girl was attempted to get her off her back a little. And anyway...p­ulling her to the ground by her hair wouldn't seem justified.

[KriTiKiT]

06:53 PM on 11/10/2009

http://www­.cbsnews.c­om/blogs/2­009/11/10/­crimesider­/entry5601­480.shtml

check the cbs defense of lambert's actions...

[lendtolease]

08:22 PM on 11/10/2009

Wow-I had not noticed the little C r *tch grab. Guess I would have done the same thing. Maybe she's not that bad after all.

[Ronadomusername7]

03:00 PM on 11/12/2009

I re-watched the video after reading. I did not see a crotch grab, i saw grabbing of the shorts...t­he uniform, which happens in pretty much every sporting event. Pushing and jockeying for position also occurs in most sports. However, the cheap shot that followed completely different.

[KriTiKiT]

02:42 PM on 11/10/2009

I called unm, they are taking your calls over lambert... I defended her... I wanna see her play in the women's world cup... I believe she is one of the best defenders in the world

[helgat]

12:19 PM on 11/10/2009

Is FIFA looking at this at all? Commenting at all? On any of this?

[parrotista]

06:35 PM on 11/10/2009

FIFA has no jurisdicti­on over NCAA.

[Fudgefase]

04:18 AM on 11/10/2009

"....was in no way indicitive of her play..."

Yes it was.

[KriTiKiT]

02:14 PM on 11/10/2009

I would be proud to have her as a defender against Brazil or Mexico or even Germany!

[Doktorkev]

12:41 AM on 11/10/2009

The biggest suspension resulting in this whole debacle should have been for the referee of this match. Watching the video I counted at least 6 incidents that would warrant an automatic red card. If someone was seriously hurt late in this game, it would have been because the one person who could have prevented it just watched. Interestin­g because none of the attention resulting from all this has focused on the referee

[S Hill]

09:13 AM on 11/10/2009

I couldn't agree more. I wasn't looking for a Yellow card I was wondering where the Red cards were. Where was the referee? If I were at the game as a spectator I'm not sure that I could have stayed in the stands and just watch that awful spectacle.

[sheaftosser]

12:18 AM on 11/10/2009

Meeeeoooow­wwww!!!! I played street basketball for money in some of the toughest cities in the country back in the day, thought I had seen it all....but this girl takes the cake. Don't let her get hold of any sharp instrument­s, you'll find them sticking out of your back!

[KriTiKiT]

02:44 PM on 11/10/2009

you play wimpy games over money, everyone is afraid to break the rules or play ruff because you might not get paid... have you ever played for the brutality of a good physical game....

how where the refs in your games alert for the fouls I bet!
the refs where asleep at byu

[Brautigan]

12:15 AM on 11/10/2009

she was soooo provoked, and those girls got what was coming to them, haha.