Two questions offered up by European pundits this week regarding the behavior of Luis Rubiales, the 46-year-old president of the Spanish football association, resonated with me. The first, “Are people overreacting to Rubiales’ full-on, lip-smacking kiss with soccer player Jenni Hermoso immediately after Spain clinched the Women’s World Cup title against England’s Lionesses?” The other is, “What if he apologized? What if he owned it and explained that he became so overwhelmed with joy by the 1-0 victory that he forgot himself?”
Let’s unpack the first one. By now, everyone who is interested will have looked at the footage and photographs of Hermos0 approaching Rubiales during the medal-giving ceremony and see his two hands grabbing her head and kissing her on the lips. No one except those in the immediate vicinity could confirm if he asked for her consent, as he maintains. But can you imagine him pausing, then asking, “Hey, Jenni, do you mind if I kiss you on the lips right now?” Really? Hermoso is vehement that he asked her nothing and that the kiss was not consensual.
Once again, we are in a ‘She said, He said’ divisive situation that helps no one. Rubiales initially made a grudging apology but then pivoted, defiantly saying…
