Recently, the U. S. Women’s soccer team was criticized for drubbing Thailand 13-0 in the first round of the World Cup. The score wasn’t as a big an issue as the way the U.S. team excessively celebrated after every goal. The lack of sportsmanship by the U.S. was pointed out by many in the sports world. Of course, there were a few people, particularly women, who accused the people of criticizing the team as sexist.
Let me say this, it’s not sexist to call out the team for poor sportsmanship. The men’s team would have been blasted for doing the same. It has nothing to do with the sex of the person. In sports, you can’t tell someone not to score, but you can control the way you celebrate. Don’t try to embarrass or show up the other team. As the saying goes, “act like you have been there before.”
There are a lot of sexist things that happen in this world, but the criticism of the U.S. women’s soccer team isn’t one them. To turn this issue into one of sexism is disingenuous. Those people are just looking to complain about something.
An argument can be made whether the pay disparity between the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer team is sexist, but showing sportsmanship isn’t sexist – it is about doing the right thing.