UNM vs. BYU Soccer, and all College Sports: EXPEL THE BULLIES

To their credit, the University of New Mexico did respond promptly to the blatant bullying of their female soccer player in the recent Brigham Young contest. However, it is not clear whether the player punished was the only perp – other suspect displays from UNM teammates went unnoticed or were marginalized.

Using the lame excuse that ‘the heat of the moment’ led to a student’s bad behavior, not only pours salt on a bruised university’s reputation, but it gives a green light to impressionable young athletes everywhere; the method doesn’t matter, only winning.

A carefully worded apology is not enough. By snapping back a BYU Cougar's neck from grabbing her ponytail, the UNM player could have easily caused irreparable and permanent harm. Video evidence confirms that incident was not isolated. 

In the face of what was repeated mistreatment of her opponents, the accusation of ‘poor sportsmanship’ toward the junior defender appears inadequate. UNM’s Athletic Department should be reevaluating its policy concerning ethics of play – employing a zero tolerance expulsion procedure for what could only be labeled, in this instance, “competitive abuse”.