Elizabeth Lambert: The Video Made Me Look Like a Monster

Two weeks after her dirty play against BYU became a YouTube sensation, New Mexico women's soccer player Elizabeth Lambert told the New York Times that she feels reporse and barely recognizes the person she sees on tape -- but also that things weren't as bad as they looked, that she may have been the victim of sexism and that BYU players weren't all innocent victims.

Lambert, who pushed, elbowed and yanked the hair of BYU players during the game, tells Times reporter Jere Longman:

"I think the way the video came out, it 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."

But Lambert also says that she thinks the media overreacted to her actions because they happened in a women's game, and that if it happened in a men's soccer match it wouldn't have caused the same level of outrage:

"I definitely feel because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it. It's more expected for men to go out there and be rough. The female, we're still looked at as, Oh, we kick the ball around and score a goal. But it's not. We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to. The physical aspect has increased over the years. I'm not saying it's for the bad or it's been too overly aggressive. It's a game. Sports are physical."

I'm not sure I buy that: I have a feeling that if a male soccer player pulled another man down by his hair, that would have gotten plenty of hits on YouTube as well. On the other hand, Lambert says BYU players took their share of cheap shots at her as well, and there is apparently video evidence to support her contention.

Overall, Lambert says, she's been through a lot in the last two weeks, with people harrassing her and her parents over the incident. And she said one unexpected consequence is that men have told her they were turned on by what they saw on video: "A lot of people think I have a lot of sexual aggression," she said. "I was like, Whoa, no, I don't feel that way at all. That's bizarre and shocking to me."