Luis Rubiales, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, had to choose one of three possible avenues of response following the widely published picture showing him lip-locked with the star of the Spanish national team, Jennifer Hermoso, during the closing ceremony of the women's World Cup, which Spain won.
Read more:
He could have kept his head down and remained silent, apologize and affirm the appropriate level of respect for women in sports, or make matters substantially worse by staying defiant and belittling the outrage. Interestingly, he chose a third option.
"There are idiots all over the place," he told Radio Marca. "It was just two people who showed affection in a way that carried no meaning, just friends enjoying a great moment. There was nothing wrong about it, and I really do not wish to spend any time dealing with this bull***t."
This isn't the only thing that Rubiales considers inconsequential. After the victory, he went to the women's dressing room and said he would marry Hermoso in Ibiza and bring the entire team with them.
And then there's the picture. Oh, that picture... In case you haven't heard, it shows Rubiales grabbing his crotch next to the Queen Letizia and her underage daughter, Princess Infanta Sofía, during his scandalous World Cup celebrations.
But all is not lost. Having apparently been shown the error of his ways, Rubiales did later go on Instagram and say: "I have no choice but to apologize and draw my lessons from what happened. It's clear I made a mistake."
Hermoso herself, by the way, also had a change of heart about the affair. Initially saying she disapproved of what he did, she then said: "We have a great relationship and it was a mutual display of affection. We need to stop overanalyzing it and enjoy the fact we're world champions."
Some rumors suggest the rest of the women on the team are afraid to speak out, and some suggest the Spanish association's response was similar to Hermoso's.
Either way, the scandal has all of Europe buzzing, and the prevailing winds have determined: What Rubiales did was wrong, and most definitely sexist.
Keep in mind, though, that this presents a rather extreme example of the underlying issue. Women in sports are routinely subjected to sexual harassments. The fact of the matter is everybody is talking about the incident rather than Spain's technical and tactical prowess that propelled them to capture the world title, which means officials are still not exhibiting the appropriate amount of respect for women's sports.
Other recent examples abound. Just before the recent World Cup finals, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had a somewhat snarky remark regarding the issue of equal pay for women in sports. "Equal pay is a slogan that pops up, but will solve nothing. Pick your battles," he said.
In Britain, Prince William announced he will not be able to attend the final. Considering his honorary role for the British Football Association, it seemed peculiar. Former England legend Jeff Hurst, who was the star of England's 1966 World Cup win, was not a fan of that decision, claiming Prince William would never have missed the men's finals.
It seems the world's most popular sports seems to also be the world's most contentious gender-related arena, owing to the women's side of the sport progressing rather rapidly, much to the chagrin of old-school sexists who refuse to align with modern-day societal concepts about women.
Who can forget the "no twerking" fiasco of 2018, when the inaugural winner of the women’s award, Ada Hegerberg, was asked to twerk live on stage by the host DJ, Martin Solveig. A historic moment for women marred by a man's insensitivity.
This trend of subjecting women to sexist remarks and humiliating expectations comes across in many sporting events. In 2015, Canadian Tennis star Eugenie Bouchard was left flabbergasted after her 2nd round Australian Open win, when an interviewer asked 'Can you give us a twirl?’ After reluctantly agreeing, she was asked to describe her dream date.
In another incident, Romanian tennis pro Ilie Nastase, once a US Open winner and world number 1, has become a bitter misogynist in his old age, placing his hand on British tennis star Anne Keothavong, later asking her for her room number.
Tennis great Serena Williams was constantly labeled as "masculine" due to her physique. During the finals of the 2018 US Open, she was penalized for cussing, raising her ire and accusing the umpire of sexism, saying he would never penalize a man like that.
And for a far more egregious example of sexism, we can travel back seven years, when USA Gymnastics (USAG) national team doctor Larry Nassar, convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of young athletes, including gymnasts, under the guise of medical treatment.
Nassar's abuse began in the late 1990s and continued for over two decades. He used his position of authority and trust to exploit and manipulate young athletes. He would perform invasive and unnecessary procedures, often under the pretense of providing legitimate medical treatment.
Over the course of several trials, more than 150 women and girls confronted Nassar in court, sharing their deeply personal and harrowing accounts of abuse. These survivors, known as "Sister Survivors," included prominent gymnasts such as Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Gabby Douglas.
In 2017, Nassar pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault and child pornography. He was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for his crimes.
Though the degree to which all of these incidents differ, there is a common thread, and that is a culture of unbearable silence that enables men in positions of power to harass, belittle and assault women.
The path the Spanish national women's team will take would likely give some insight as to how society responds to these offenses, and to what degree they are willing to go to take tangible actions to punish offenders and mark a line in the sand so others won't cross in the future.