It appears that training camp has gotten quite a few of the boys in the NFL pretty riled up this August. The internet is buzzing about the Geno Smith, IK Enemkpali fiasco. Stars Dez Bryant and Cam Newton got into it with players on their teams and some of the guys down at the Bucs’ camp decided to get in on the action. Fights during training camp aren’t unheard of and are actually to be expected. It’s hot, testosterone is on ten and everyone is working hard to prove their worth to the team. With conditions like those, there’s bound to be a little tension. Watching it all unfold on my TV and iPhone screens has been quite entertaining, but it also got me thinking about how women conduct themselves on the field of play. While it would be nice if female athletes were consummate professionals, perfect examples of what it means to be true sportswomen, such is not always the case. Athletes (men and women) are competitive and sometimes that competitive spirit causes people to lose their tempers. And sometimes competition has nothing to do with it; athletes are people, and people don’t always get along. Whatever the reason, female athletes are no more immune from confrontation than men are. So, in the spirit of acknowledging that lady athletes can get down and dirty too, I compiled a short list of times when female athletes lost their cool. Enjoy!
1. Honor Duvall
“Don’t let my cute face fool you.” –Teairra Marí
Her smile might be bright and shining, but don’t end up on
the wrong end of her right hook! Earlier this year, Washburn University’s Honor
Duvall knocked out the University of Central Oklahoma’s McKenzie Solberg after
the two got into a bit of an argument. Duvall
got called for a charge against Solberg, words were exchanged and Solberg ended
up back on the ground. For her Ali-esque
efforts Duvall was ejected and received two technical fouls. She issued an apology and managed to stay out
of trouble for the remainder of the season.
2. West Virginia’s Women’s Basketball Team
Sometimes it gets heated between members of opposing teams, but sometimes things get heated between players and fans of opposing teams. The latter happened in 2013 after the ladies at West Virginia beat the ladies the University of Hawaii in the Rainbow Wahine Classic. A UH fan who had apparently been heckling Mountaineers bench the entire game, revved up his tactics after the game was over. When he lunged at the student-athletes who were waiting to claim their trophy, madness ensued. Thankfully, none of the ladies were injured as a result of the fracas.
3. Alabama and Auburn’s Women’s Basketball Teams
In January, ish got real between the ladies of rivals
Alabama and Auburn. A successful free
throw attempt turned in to a fight that stretched from the court to the
sidelines. Players got tangled up, threw
punches, ran after one another…you know the typical basketball game stuff. The melee lead to the ejections of Alabama’s
Breanna Hayden and Meoshonti Knight and Auburn’s Hasina Muhammad. Hopefully when the ladies meet this coming
season the game will run a little smoother.
4. Texas Southern and Southern Women’s Basketball
0 to 100 doesn’t even begin to explain how quickly things escalated when Southern and Texas Southern met for a game back in March. I’m sure the referee had no idea that calling a charge would lead to a ruckus that ended in 15 suspensions, a removal and a double forfeit. The fight, which even spilled over into the cheerleaders’ section, caused number one seed TSU to withdraw from the SWAC tournament and all but ensured that Southern, the number two seed, wouldn’t make it far in the tournament themselves.
5. Karen Bardsley
It’s not just the basketballers who like to flex on one another. Back in March, Manchester City goalie Karen Bardsley resorted to fisticuffs after she and Birmingham forward Freda Ayisi jockeyed for position during a corner kick. When the brief altercation ended, only Ayisi was handed a red card because the referee did not initially see Bardsley’s swinging fist. *side eye* After gaining a complete picture of the incident; however, the Football Association brought a charge of violent conduct against Bardsley who later called and apologized to Birmingham.
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