x
Breaking News
More () »

Brandi Chastain's Hall of Fame plaque looks nothing like her

In the wake of the controversy, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame president said the plaque would be redone.
Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Brandi Chastain smiles during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at at the Spyglass Hill Golf Course on February 11, 2010 in Pebble Beach, California.

And soccer fans thought the Cristiano Ronaldo statue was bad...

Soccer star Brandi Chastain, a World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist, was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame on Monday night in San Francisco. But when her Hall of Fame plaque was unveiled, the likeness looked nothing like Chastain.

She chose her words carefully in describing the plaque: “It’s not the most flattering,” Chastain said, via the San Jose Mercury News. “But it’s nice.”

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ann Killion was not as diplomatic. Killion tweeted: “Brandi Chastain is one of the most beautiful athletes I’ve ever covered. How this became her plaque is a freaking embarrassment for BASHOF.”

How bad was it? Chastain fans on Twitter suggested the likeness resembled John Elway, Rex Ryan, Gary Busey and even former president Jimmy Carter.

In the wake of the controversy, HOF president Kevin O'Brien told USA TODAY Sports the plaque would be redone.

"It was not a good job on the part of the artist. We're going to do a better job this time," O'Brien said.

After speaking with Chastain "at length" Tuesday morning, O'Brien said he decided to have a new plaque made, although she told him she "didn't have a problem with it" but was fine with the decision to try again.

Most soccer fans remember Chastain another way -- celebrating in her sports bra after her game-winning kick in the 1999 World Cup.

Anthony Savicke, the Hall of Fame's vice president of finance and administration, told the Mercury News on Monday he had not heard any complaints, and that the likenesses on plaques are "representations."

Before You Leave, Check This Out