November 6, 2009 was arguably a day of one of the poorest displays of sportsmanship in sports history. In a womens’ soccer match between New Mexico University and Brigham Young University (BYU), New Mexico defender Elizabeth Lambert shocked the world of collegiate sports.
The game started as any other game would until Lambert kidney punched an opposing BYU player in the back after she lost possession of the ball. Shortly after, Lambert knocked another BYU player to the ground with an illegal slide tackle and then she kicked the ball into a fallen BYU player’s face. Finally, Lambert grabbed BYU’s Kassidy Shumway by the ponytail, yanking her to the ground. Media attention swirled and the YouTube video received millions of views.
The line drawn between a solid, physical performance on the playing field and sportsmanlike behavior seems to be becoming increasingly gray to athletes, coaches and referees alike, as athletes gain a competitive edge. Whether a nudge in the back during a cross-country meet or a full nelson on the wrestling mat, athletes display or fall subject to physical and demanding acts of submission.
Some athletes prefer to follow the rules of the game. Others prefer playing physically and sometimes even ferociously, believing that “playing dirty” brings advantages to their team and themselves.
Palo Alto High School sees its share of physical contact in sports. In the 16 sports at Paly, most include a variety of possible physical actions to use on an opponent. The football field could be the first place to see physical play. With hard-hitting tackles and discreet punches, “playing dirty” is characteristic of football, and why football could easily be one of sport’s most demanding games.
Varsity right guard and defensive tackle A.J. Castillo (’10) sees a lot of dirty play on the football field. In a game this season against Archbishop Mitty high school, Castillo remembers the pain the Monarchs brought him and the rest of the Viking squad, recalling it as the most physical game of the year.
While Castillo recognizes the fact that “playing dirty” is a part of the game, he believes that in order to establish himself as a dominant player, he must be physically aggressive towards his competitors on the field.
“Right from the start, you need to get on top of [your opponents] and keep a constant intensity up,” Castillo said.
Not only does Castillo play physically to evoke fear in his opponents, he strives to gain a mental advantage over his challengers as well.
“[When you play physical] people start to break down mentally and it can affect their game and get them out of their zone,” Castillo said.
Like Castillo, water polo player Anna Glaves (’11) believes that playing physical can help an athlete during a game. As a varsity player for over a year, Glaves notices the benefits that playing dirty can bring.
“Playing dirty makes defense easier because it’s hard to move if someone is grabbing you,” Glaves said. “Holding can also be helpful from keeping the other team from shooting.”
Glaves sees the effect of “playing dirty” on her opponents. With a swift underwater pull or grab, Glaves controls her opponent’s mind set for the remainder of the game. Water polo players and other athletes can control their opponents psychologically without receiving harsh penalties for their actions.
“It can be helpful beating up the other team,” Glaves said. “They can get frustrated and people usually fight back out of frustration or start playing worse.”
Glaves’ experience allows her to single out which teams will play dirty.
“Usually the better the team is, the dirtier they are,” Glaves said.
Many athletes believe this statement to be true, which may be due to the examples set by successful, professional athletes.
Ty Cobb, a hall of fame center fielder for the Detroit Tigers, is recognized as one of sport’s most combative and physical athletes. Of 2,200 votes for an internet poll on ESPN, 44 percent of those voters believed Cobb to be the dirtiest professional athlete in the history of sports.
Although Cobb led the American League in batting average, hits, runs scored, runs batted in, stolen bases, triples, doubles and slugging percentage during his 1911 season with the Tigers, critics attribute his ability to succeed with his general disregard of the rules. Opponents recalled Cobb going to a place in the dugout where opposing infielders on the other team could see him sharpening the spikes on his cleats.
When a young pitcher hit Cobb during his first plate appearance Cobb took his base without saying a word. But the next time Cobb stepped up to the plate, he bunted down the first-base line and, as the pitcher went to field the ball, Cobb knocked him over before spiking him in the chest.
Cobb’s reputation within Major League Baseball created tension between his fans, opponents and teammates. Although Cobb’s reputation faltered in the media, he created a universal fear in opposing fielders. Even Cobb’s relatively quiet teammate Connie Mack called him, “the dirtiest player I ever saw.”
The constant terror that Cobb inspired while on the bases and at the plate helped him during his career. He exploited the fear he created, making other athletes feel inferior to his glorified athleticism.
Cobb’s mentality on the playing field resembles that of many athletes today.
While “playing dirty” remains a common theme amongst athletes, some athletes deem the act of “dirty play” wrong. Varsity basketball player Joseph Lin (’10) believes athletes play physical as a method to gain the upper hand on their opponents. When they administer cheap shots in unethical ways, they damage their sport’s reputations.
“Playing dirty is unsportsmanlike,” Lin said. Period.
Lin recognizes that athletes who play dirty in basketball become especially prone to poor relationships among opponents and on-lookers.
“People will see when you play dirty, and the players on the court see it even more,” Lin said. “If you get caught, you’ll be named a ‘dirty player’ and be known as a dirty player, which isn’t the best thing.”
Emy Kelty (’12), a center midfielder on the girls’ varsity soccer team, also considers the concept of “dirty play” unfair.
“Playing dirty is like cheating on a test,” Kelty said. “You can get the results you want, but it’s a short cut to success.”
Rather than becoming physical with opponents, Kelty recognizes the benefits playing conservatively can bring.
“You can work on other things, like having good touches, and concentrate more on your passes and skill,” Kelty said. “Playing dirty is a way to compensate for not having those skills.”
Through Kelty’s previous experiences with dirty players, she feels that not only does “playing dirty” affect the enjoyment of her sport, but also affects the physical health of athletes.
In a game several years ago, Kelty shattered her heel when a player decided to slide tackle her from behind when her back was turned, after the play had ended. After six months of intensive physical therapy, Kelty returned to her team, the Juventus Victory, and finished her season. Her opinion on “dirty play” did not change after the incident. According to Kelty, playing safe creates a lot less injuries.
However, Paly athletic trainers Josh Goldstein and John Tamez believe that athletes assume injuries, due to “dirty play,” are more common, when actually record keeping of injuries has improved.
Tamez believes athletes are less likely to get hurt during play due to strength training programs.
“With strength training programs being a big part of the game, athletes are becoming less susceptible to injury,” Tamez said.
Along with improved methods of training to stop injury, Goldstein said that extra medical staff has been integrated into games to prevent, sustain and treat injuries immediately after they happen. He recognizes the improvement of equipment over the years as another factor as to why athletes are less vulnerable to injury.
While equipment helps prevent injuries in sports, the rules in football consistently change to prevent injuries caused by “dirty play.”
In 2005, the National Football League (NFL) banned the horse-collar tackle, which caused six major injuries over the course of the 2004 season. The rule became effective in high school in 2009. In this maneuver, a defender tackles another player by grabbing the back-inside of their opponent’s shoulder pads from behind and then by pulling them down. The illegal tackle poses serious threats to opponents because of the awkward position he falls in.
In an NFL game on Dec. 19, 2004, the Dallas Cowboys took on the Philadelphia Eagles. With 14:30 left in the third quarter, Cowboy safety Roy Williams used a horse-collar tackle on the Eagles’ wide receiver Terrell Owens. Williams grabbed Owens by the back of his shoulder pads and yanked him down, where he landed on his back. Owens’ right foot got caught in the turf on his way down and, as a result, he fractured his right fibula and tore ligaments in his ankle. Owens sat out for seven weeks.
While equipment, rules and trained medical staff help prevent serious injuries on the field, referees must stop “dirty play” from happening in the first place. United Football League referee Terri Valenti sees “dirty play” all the time. In order for her and other referees to put a stop to physical play, Valenti stresses the importance of preventative officiating.
“[Referees] need to make a physical presence,” Valenti said. “We need to make sure the players know we’re there and watching. If players are getting out of hand, it’s important that we step in quickly.”
Valenti said that games can easily get out of hand if they are not handled appropriately.
“Dirty play is very contagious,” Valenti said. “You will always find someone who wants to start something. It’s on us as officials to work with preventative officiating.”
“Playing dirty” affects the basic concept of sports themselves, too.
“Playing dirty stops making the game fun for everyone,” Valenti said.
Palo Alto Soccer Club referee Bernardo Tapia also sees how “dirty plays,” in sports like soccer, change the way athletes play. The presence of a single dirty player is enough to affect the spirit of the game.
“[Soccer players] think that [playing dirty] gives them some sort of advantage during the game,” Tapia said. “They will do whatever they can to gain possession of the game.”
While the players are directly responsible for “dirty play,” Tapia believes coaches are the root of this universal problem in sports.
“Players are a reflection on how their coaches act on poor playing,” Tapia said. “If they allow that to go on, that’s really where the game should be brought up. We should have good and positive coaching.”
Girls’ varsity basketball coach Scott Peters could not agree more with Tapia’s views on the importance of a coach’s role in developing his or her players.
“The bottom line is that it is the coaches’ job to address [dirty play] and make it clear that it is not to be tolerated,” Peters said.
“Playing dirty eventually catches up to you one way or another. It is a bad habit that, if allowed to flourish, can’t be turned on and off like a light switch. This leads to poor discipline and execution. It’s a mentality that doesn’t lead to long term skill development.”
During one game, Peters saw one team display a particularly excessive amount of “dirty play.” He recalls frequent kicking and shoving of the opposing team and said it was “just plain wrong.” He was even more disappointed in the coach, who did nothing to stop his team’s play.
While Peters did not enjoy coaching that game, he made sure his players did not stoop to their opponents’ level. Instead, Peters expressed the importance of playing harder and safer, reassuring his team that doing so would pay off in the end.
“When going against teams that play dirty, you must play even stronger and harder,” Peters said. “This does two things: it lets the other team know that you can’t be intimidated and it usually causes the other team to go even further down their dirty path; this hopefully forces the referees to start calling the game tighter.”
Looking back on that unforgettable soccer game between New Mexico and BYU, people will view it in many ways. Lambert pulled a girl down by her ponytail. Will she been seen as just another girl with unsportsmanlike behavior, or do her actions go deeper than that? The underlying issue still remains: how will people interpret this? Some may see it as wrong because she went against the rules, others may admire her for physical play. But in the end, this moment was more than just brutal punches to be watched over and over again on YouTube; it was the message Lambert sent to the sports world that millions must consider for themselves.
“In baseball and in every other sport, what separates the Hall of Famers from the Average Joes is skill, talent, and hardwork,” Frosh-Soph baseball player Jacob Lauing (’12) said. “Athletes believe this type of conduct contributes to their success, but in the end, the injuries and suspensions outweigh any benefits.” <<<
