Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame to redo soccer star Brandi Chastain plaque

Tuesday, May 22, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area Hall of Fame President Kevin O'Brien told our sister station in San Francisco, ABC7 News, that he offered to redo soccer star Brandi Chastain's plaque after critics on social media called it unflattering.

San Jose native and soccer superstar Brandi Chastain was one of 5 local legends inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Monday night.

But what everyone is talking about is the plaque she received that, to put it kindly, is unflattering. Chastain says she's been told it "looks like Jimmy Carter, Mickey Rooney, or Gary Busey."

She did not see it before the unveiling and says when she did, her thought was "Wow, this isn't exactly what I look like."

RELATED: Brandi Chastain says Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame plaque is 'not the most flattering'
Brandi Chastain says Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame plaque is 'not the most flattering'

Chastain is known worldwide for her penalty kick in the World Cup soccer match in 1999 that vaulted the U.S. women to victory. An iconic photo shows her tearing off her jersey in celebration.

That apparently is not the picture the sculptor used for the plaque.

Kevin O'Brien, President of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, said, "There's never been anyone, male or female, really happy with their plaque."

He has promised a re-do for Chastain's plaque. She is taking it in stride and says she wants to use the plaque attack to bring attention to the work of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

The organization's mission is to raise money to fund sports for low-income, at-risk youth. In that regard, she says "the evening was a huge success."

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