Saki Kumagai scored the winning penalty kick for Japan against the U.S. in the finals of the World Cup, but her celebration has turned sour due to a wild night. According to The Mainichi Daily News, Kumagai was warned by the Japan Football Association on Thursday “after details of a recent night out with university students were revealed through Twitter.”
More of the story from The Mainichi Daily News via Zach Arnold at Fight Opinion:
The 20-year-old Kumagai was out celebrating Japan’s World Cup triumph in Germany on Wednesday, when one of the students began tweeting what she was saying.
The tweets reportedly had Kumagai criticizing coach Norio Sasaki and describing the clubhouse atmosphere as hierarchical. She is also said to have shown nude photos of teammate and forward Karina Maruyama taken on her mobile phone.
Local media reported that Kumagai’s remarks about Sasaki and the team pecking order were made public, while the player, who has apologized on her own Twitter page, has been pulled from all scheduled television appearances in the wake of the gaffe.
What’s the lesson to be learned here? If you’re going to criticize your coach, make sure you round up everyone’s cell phone first. Oh yeah, and make sure you tweet the picture of your teammate too.
