What grievance Emily Little has against Maddie Tight is anyone’s guess. It could be something. It could be nothing.
Wild speculation is fully justified after video showing Little drill Tight in the face with a soccer ball — twice — took the Internet by storm.
The incident took place during a Division III college soccer game between Little’s Amherst College and Tight’s Colby College. Amherst was leading 1-0 when it won a throw-in late in the game.
The Amherst defender threw the ball off her opponent’s face with her first attempt.
It could have been an accident, as Tight was standing between Little and another Amherst player. But the force with which she threw the ball, combined with awkward angle, suggests it was anything but a mistake.
The ball went out of bounds after hitting Tight, so Little picked it up and prepared to take the next throw-in. This time, she built momentum by running a couple of steps toward the sideline and launching the ball … directly into Tight’s face again. It’s nearly impossible to argue that Little didn’t mean to do it, so we won’t.
Colby fans were predictably outraged, and at least one was certain that the throws were a red-card offense. The referee disagreed and showed Little a yellow card — presumably for cruelty.
What Tight did to provoke Little’s wrath is unknown. Maybe she did something. Maybe she didn’t.
For now, Amherst fans will have to ask the same question France fans asked Zinedine Zidane after he was sent off in the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup: “Mais pourquoi, Emily?”
Watch Little hit Tight in the face in the video below.
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