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Olmes Garcia is a player with a lot of skill, goalscoring potential, attacking nous, and a bad habit.
A penchant for diving — not exactly something new to Garcia's game, certainly — somewhat dims those positive attributes, and it's at a point now that's quickly approaching untenable.
This isn't just about his "encounter" with former RSL man Jamison Olave, in which the defender took a grab at Garcia's genitals, which caused no small amount of pain — that has its own set of problems that fall beyond the purview of us and will almost certainly fall to the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
It's also not just about the non-call that sparked the incident between the two Colombians, which, let's be honest, was largely just Olave being Olave. It's a thing we experienced week-in, week-out from 2008 to 2012, and whether there was a foul by the defender or not, the reaction was probably the result of something more significant. Again, this isn't just about that sort of moment.
No, it's that in many matches he appears, Olmes Garcia goes down easily, simulates contact, or embellishes extant contact. His reputation for those things is growing. It won't the player, and it won't help the team. Perhaps he's made improvements this year. It's certainly a possibility, and it's only the most visible of incidents that get the harsh light of day shone upon them.
But if there isn't marked improvement, and especially after this most recent incident (see, it comes full circle here), he's going to find it increasingly difficult to get the call when he's actually fouled. This most recent incident — on national television — sees both Olave and Garcia cast as villains. But one will be remembered for a bit of bad behavior; the other for a hyper-exaggerated reaction to a painful grab.
On a more light-hearted note, here are some pretty great tweets about the incident.
— Brad Evans (@brad_evans3) July 31, 2014
"@brad_evans3: #olave just grabbed his #junk" i know that feeling!!
— Aron Jóhannsson (@aronjo20) July 31, 2014
Awesome! @MLS Disciplinary Comm. now tasked w/ deciding the appropriate reaction to having your privates grabbed by another player. #RSLvNY
— Alexi Lalas (@AlexiLalas) July 31, 2014
This game is nuts. #RSLvNY
— Matthew Doyle (@MLSAnalyst) July 31, 2014