By: KAYLA MADSEN
Photo Courtesy: Facebook, Kevin Durant
As a long time soccer player myself and personal experience on both turf and grass this particular article strikes me to be very interesting.
The debate between FIFA has stirred up quite the argument this season. The women’s world cup is being held in Canada next summer and the female athletes feel discriminated against because the host of the world cup wants the games to be played on artificial turf field.
As most on-lookers and prospecters may say “what’s the big deal? It’s just fake grass.” Anybody that has every played on a turf field will tell you that it is not the same, not to any degree. Yes, it looks amazing and beautiful, but in the heat of the game injuries are inevitable.
The female athlete has every right to have the same kind of treatment as the guys world cup teams did. The guys got new stadiums built, fields made, and brand new vendors. All the women’s teams want is a regular field to play on. They feel as if their being treated like guinea pigs. The lawsuit definitely has the support of fellow athletes on this growing debate.
Forward Sydney Leroux, from the U.S. women’s world cup team took a photo of her bruised knees and shins after playing a match on a turf field. I couldn’t believe the battle scars on her legs.
“It’s just fake grass” I’m sorry? Can you repeat that? Do you ever remember playing outside as a child and ending up like this particular athlete? I certainly don’t.
Many athletes have taken notice and have shared the women’s ideas and images through their Facebook’s.
Kobe Byrant an NBA super star came out with this statement saying, “c’mon now FIFA u can’t have our woman playing on turf.”
FIFA is continuously being attacked for their decision making the law suit heats up even more.
The women feel that if this were the other way around and was the male’s arguing this debate it would be resolved in a matter of days, because they can’t have their precious male athletes complaining and unhappy.
Why aren’t woman given the same rights as men? Why must they be forced to be put into those situations on the field? Any and every athlete that has done so knows that playing on turf versus a normal field are far from similar.
Between injuries, ball control, and feet constantly heating up to crazy temperatures from the friction created from turf and soccer cleats material makes it to such an uncomfortable level of soccer.
Our women are expected to go out there and give us the show of a life time. How unfair to give these women our 100 % expectation of the beautiful game when FIFA hasn’t given them the right tools to do so.
This is an insult to the game and insult to the women of the sport and it has to be corrected. Not solely for the rights of women but for the love and respect of the game and give the game the equality that it deserves and keep the game on fair grounds.
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