German soccer club BV Cloppenburg (BVC) Head Coach Imke Wübbenhorst is already making waves without even 31 days under her belt after responding to a reporter's ignorant inquiry concerning locker room etiquette.
Though Wübbenhorst happens to be the first woman to coach a German fifth-division men's team, the determined former athlete told her team's website that she'd rather be "judged on performances" than her gender.
"I don't have a problem commanding authority — I'm a teacher."
Perhaps unaware of Wübbenhorst's wit and dedication to the sport, a reporter for German newspaper Welt asked whether the retired soccer star sounded an alarm upon entry to the men's locker room.
"Of course not, I am a professional — I base my selections on penis lengths," the 30-year-old Wübbenhorst replied sarcastically, turning the lewd language back on the newspaper.
Though she herself sees performance as the essential factor to evaluate, she revealed to BVC that "the only fear I have is that a relegation would be blamed on the fact that I am a woman."
While local news outlets figure out the apparent conundrum of communicating with an athlete who happens to be a woman, Wübbenhorst says her team — including board members — is completely in her corner.
Echoing sentiments clearly held by Wübbenhorst, board member Herbert Schröder claims the choice of hiring the former national women's team member, who'd retired from competition two years earlier, "was an easy decision" because, according to him, BVC's officials "only looked at quality."
Getting in the door, or even a conversation, however, was not easy. Having applied to several positions, Wübbenhorst says she was even sometimes told outright that her gender was the "issue."
With 12 games remaining in the season and BVC sitting six points from safety, let's hope these "well-endowed" athletes can rise to the occasion.
