There has been quite a brouhaha over the beating New Mexico soccer player, Elizabeth Lambert, recently gave a number of BYU’s players in a recent tournament. Smashing high kicks, leg breaking trips, and neck-snapping pony tail pulling were the weapons in her defensive “hat trick.” Viewing the YouTube video made me think I was in the middle of two video games at the same time--World Cup soccer and Mortal Combat.

  I’m not the only one who was magnetically drawn to watch this video, like we do when rubber-necking our way past a nasty car accident. Over six million people hit the website to view this strange, sad soccer sensation.

  “The video…did make me look like a monster. That's not the type of player I am. I'm not just out there trying to hurt players. That's taking away from the beauty of the game. And I would never want to do that," Lambert defended. Some guys must have found the monstrous things she did mysteriously beautiful. Many have since tried to ask her out.

  In what has become an all-too-common plea she argued “That’s not me.”

  Then who was it?

  She claims it all “a misunderstanding.”

  But videos don’t lie, especially when she repeated the fouls over and over..

  “I can’t believe I did that.”

  Neither can we…and get away with it in a game that allegedly had referees and coaches.

  All those usual suspects have been drawn and quartered: “Where were the refs? How did her coaches train her? What kinds of pressures are her parents putting her under?”

  But ultimately it comes down to Elizabeth. She’s going to have to live with the consequences of her actions. Some might say this was her 15 minutes of fame and the world will soon forget. Personally, I’d advise a legal name change before she hits the job market, unless she’s looking to become a cage fighter. Anonymous blogger “Evil Genius,” in his viral response to the video, suggested he’d love to see her box Tanya Harding.

  Lambert plays the blame game as hard as she plays soccer. She states men get away with more violence in sports--a weak use of the “gender card.” Many bloggers took exception, stressing this level of violence not be tolerated at any level of sport. Browns quarterback, Brady Quinn, just got fined big bucks for throwing a chop block, a destructive move that was less damaging than some of Lambert’s.

   One of the most significant signs of maturity is taking responsibility for ones actions. By this standard, Ms. Lambert has a lot of growing up to do.

  “…we will grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).