If Hope Solo was a male, or an athlete in a violent sport, or a visible minority, or anything other than the best female goalkeeper in the world, would she still be playing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer?
What do you have to do—or have allegedly done—to no longer get to represent your country?
Solo retained her place in the United States’ starting lineup 24 hours after ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported she was combative with police officers after her arrest last year on accusations that she assaulted her half-sister and her teenage nephew. In the incident report Solo was described as the “primary aggressor.”
Solo saved four shots on goal, including a couple of big saves in the first 15 minutes against Australia. The U.S.’s decision to stick by Solo was vindicated by the 3-1 victory, and she will be back in goal Friday against Sweden.
Solo might not be America’s best player, but she’s surely their most valuable. With questions at the back and with their defensive midfielders struggling, Solo has to stand tall for the USA to beat otherwise inferior opponents—her performance against Australia is testament to that.
A Solo suspension would not just hurt the USA, it would hurt the tournament. Stardom and sex sells and she has both in spades; she is one of the few crossover stars in women’s soccer. She was one of the celebrities who had nude photos leaked in the recent iCloud hack.
There is so little attention on the women’s game to start with until the World Cup. Now the athletes are not just sharing the spotlight with Sepp Blatter’s corruption mess but dealing with Solo overshadowing the game. This case is at least in part Solo’s doing. The timing of the Outside the Lines story is not.
“That was a long time ago. I’ll be honest, we’ve moved on,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. “She’s been a fantastic player and teammate. None of that has even resonated with us, and I’m sure many of the players aren’t aware of it.”
They aren’t aware of it or they don’t want to be aware of it? The distinction matters, as was the case when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the Baltimore Ravens. They were criticized on the grounds that they should have known more about Ray Rice’s assault on his wife or they should have made a wiser decision if they did know.
Only after the original Rice backlash did U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati speak up about the Solo case, saying, “We considered the information available and have taken a deliberate and thoughtful approach. U.S. Soccer stands by our decision to allow her to participate with the team as the legal process unfolds. If new information comes available we will carefully consider it.”
It’s easy to say that when friendlies are at stake, less so when the team is in the middle of a World Cup.
What they likely considered was the caliber of the team’s back-up ‘keepers, Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher. They’ve never even been on the bench for a World Cup game until this tournament.
Solo has refused to address the new allegations or possible suspension since touching down in Canada, saying only “I’m here to talk about the World Cup and soccer.” Thus far Solo has walked unscathed, so much so that broadcasters discussing Solo’s indiscretions label them “distractions” and “off field issues.” The vast majority of the conversations regarding Solo I’ve heard have been about what this does to the team’s chemistry, not whether she should keep her place on the team.
Solo’s female coach didn’t give second thought to the new allegations, saying, “I like to have clear focus, stay in the bubble so to speak and worry about things that really impact the players and the team.”
The timing of these allegations is suspicious but her sister Teresa Obert denies she has an ulterior motive. ”I never would have talked but she continues to talk and lie about my son and vilify my son,” she said.
Although Solo was charged with two counts of domestic violence, her case is far from open and shut. Her sister and nephew refused to appear for second depositions ordered by the court. Solo’s legal team claims their stories are now inconsistent with the original statements they made to law enforcement.
Solo is alleged to have said to a police officer her attire was “worth more than he made in a year” and after being forcibly subdued said, ”you’re such a bitch—you’re scared of me because you know if the handcuffs were off I’d kick your ass.” Solo’s interview with Good Morning America told a very different story to the one previously heard.
“I was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of my 17-year old nephew who is 6’9”, 280 pounds. I was struck over the head and concussed pretty severely,” she said. “I was being compared to Ray Rice and I was the victim of domestic violence not the perpetrator.”
Her half-sister had a different recollection of the skirmish: “She grabbed him by the head and kept slamming him into the cement over and over again so I came from behind and I pulled her over, you know to get her off my son. Once she got off she started punching me in the face over and over again and my son got her off of me. I spit out a piece of tooth and I said call 911”.
If those allegations are true, is she the person you want signing toddlers’ autographs?
The cops documented only injuries to her nephew and half-sister. Solo has said at the time of the arrest she suffered a concussion but refused to let police examine her.
The case, technically, wasn’t dismissed for lack of evidence; it was dismissed on procedural grounds. The prosecutors have appealed and are re-filing the charges against Solo.
There is a precedent of discipline without conviction in other sports leagues. Before NBA player Jeffrey Taylor pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge when he had a physical encounter with a woman, he did not appeal the league’s 24-game suspension.
When LA Kings forward Slava Voynov allegedly screamed at his wife while kicking and choking her, the hockey world was shocked. Even before he was charged with felony domestic abuse and corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury, Voynov was suspended indefinitely by the NHL while the case is pending.
Women’s soccer does deserve the same amount of scrutiny. If we don’t apply it, that’s a form of inequality, a form of sexism.
As a society we don’t see women as aggressive, so it’s uncomfortable to ponder the prospect of them being the assailant rather than the victim. However, a recent Harvard medical school study shows 70 percent of domestic violence is committed by women against men. As abhorrent as it was for the previously suspended NFL star Adrian Peterson to strike a child, Solo should be punished equally if it is true she initiated an altercation with a teenager, regardless of that teenager’s gender.
I’m not saying we should divorce ourselves from the legal process—innocent until proven guilty is a right that should be extended to everyone. However, equal rights means not just equal opportunity but the equal opportunity to be held accountable.
Do we want to see Hope Solo in goal screaming at her defenders to push up and play a high line if there isn’t going to be push back and a high standard on whether or not she should be in that goal in the first place?
Do we want to see one of soccer’s best athletes, male or female, lose the right to compete when she hasn’t been convicted of a crime?
These are tough and uncomfortable conversations, but they’re undoubtedly ones worth having.