U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team – Biggest News Stories of 2016

Hope Solo’s Contract Terminated!

Hope Solo has been the starting U.S. goalkeeper for the better part  of a decade, and has been considered the best women’s soccer goalkeeper on earth for much of that. However, Ms. Solo is also known for some controversial events that have occurred the past few years.

She even said some controversial things back in the 2007 World Cup  when starting goalkeeper Briana Scurry lost a game to Brazil 4 to 0.

"‘And I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that,’ said Solo after the game. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is, it’s not 2004 anymore.’ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188214/Hope-Solo-reveals-kicked-U-S-team-2007-accused-treason.html#ixzz4UBRccUJX Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook"

The ‘Sources’ also has an ESPN link to that story:

At the 2012 Olympics, Solo got into a feud with famous  ” ’99’er ” former soccer player Brandi Chastain as Solo thought Chastain’s TV commentaries were inappropriate during the Colombia game.

"Lay off commentating about defending and gking until you get more educated @brandichastain the game has changed from a decade ago,” Solo tweeted. ADVERTISEMENT"

We move ahead to 2014, where  Solo was arrested for a domestic dispute with her half-sister and nephew, However, in the aftermath, Solo claimed she was the victim.

"“I’m not going to go into all of the details, uh, but it was a scary night,” Solo said to GMA. “I was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of my 17-year-old nephew, who is 6-foot-9, 280 pounds. I was struck over the head, and concussed pretty severely. It was a very scary night.”"

However, other details emerged indicating Solo was intoxicated at the time, and belligerent to the officers investigating the incident. A copy of the police report is in ‘Sources’.

The domestic violence case was eventually dismissed in early January 2015 when Solo’s half- sister Teresa Obert  and 17-year-old  nephew did not appear in court.

Later in January 2015, Solo’s husband, Jerramy Stevens was arrested for drunk driving with Solo. They were driving a U.S. Soccer Federation van during a training camp week. Afterward, it came out that Solo also acted belligerently to these arresting officers. According to a report by TMZ.

"A law enforcement official told TMZ that both Stevens and Solo “were a major pain” and that Hope came very close to being arrested for disorderly conduct. Both Stevens and Solo allegedly pulled the “don’t you know who we are?” card with police. Stevens refused to submit to a breathalyzer, so officers obtained a warrant to have his blood tested and he was eventually booked for DUI."

She was suspended one month by the U.S. Soccer Federation at the time in early 2015 for this incident.

Now, we can finally look at her controversies at the 2016 Rio Olympics. First we have the “Zika controversy” where Solo donned insect protective gear and thus angered the Brazilian fans before the Olympics started:

Copied directly from Twitter:

There were also more pictures of bottles of insect repellent and other supplies.

So, when the Rio Olympics started in August, the Brazilian fans were prepared, and jeered “ZIKA!” every time Solo touched the soccer ball. This continued for the duration of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team’s involvement at the Olympics.

Unfortunately for Solo, her Rio Olympic controversies do not end here. She was interviewed by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated immediately after the team’s Quarterfinal defeat to Sweden and this is what she said.

By the way. this is the infamous “cowards” interview, which was copied directly from Twitter.

Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl)

Full Hope Solo quote on Sweden after US was eliminated from the Olympics today.

12:52 PM – 12 Aug 2016

After this report came out, U.S. Women’s Soccer coach Jill Ellis, and the U.S. Soccer Federation Chief Executive Dan Flynn notified her on August 24, 2016 that her contract was terminated and she was suspended from the team for 6 months effective immediately.

This is directly from the U.S. Soccer website:

"Aug 24, 2016 CHICAGO (Aug. 24, 2016) – U.S. Soccer has suspended goalkeeper Hope Solo from the U.S. Women’s National Team for six months for conduct that is counter to the organization’s principles. The suspension for Solo, who was previously suspended for 30 days early in 2015 for her conduct, is effective immediately. “The comments by Hope Solo after the match against Sweden during the 2016 Olympics were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “Beyond the athletic arena, and beyond the results, the Olympics celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect. We expect all of our representatives to honor those principles, with no exceptions. “Taking into consideration the past incidents involving Hope, as well as the private conversations we’ve had requiring her to conduct herself in a manner befitting a U.S. National Team member, U.S. Soccer determined this is the appropriate disciplinary action.” As a result of the suspension, Solo would not be eligible for selection to the U.S. Women’s National Team until February of 2017."

Here is a quick (and clean) video on the matter.

Here is another article that summarizes her controversial past.

Hope Solo's comments about Sweden just the latest in a long history of controversial statements

There is suspicion that the U.S. Soccer Federation unfairly terminated her contract as it would weaken the USWNT stance on the collective bargaining agreement. According to Solo herself:

"“I feel like I’m being pushed out, because it can’t be based off performance, my health,” she says in the episode. “It can’t be based off anything but they don’t like me … because they know I’ve been fighting so hard for equal pay. “They’re going to use my comments as an excuse to get rid of me forever so that they don’t have to deal with such a strong voice and opposition to field conditions and playing conditions and pay. I think I’m just a thorn in their side, and it’s time for them to cut their losses.”"

 So, this question begs, why not punish Solo more severely back around 2015 when her domestic disturbance and husband’s drunk driving incidents were “fresh”? Was that to “guarantee” a 2015 World Cup victory? Now that the 2016 Olympics were over, and the USSF punishes Solo 6 months for a “cowards” comment, it almost implies that they no longer need her and she can be “discarded”. The “cumulative effect” timing seems a little peculiar. Granted, she should be punished for her previous actions, but why not more severely at the time of occurrence?

Do you think the U.S. Soccer Federation was justified in their handling of Hope Solo? Again, feel free to leave your comments.

Sources

1. http://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/8262829/espnw-us-goalkeeper-hope-solo-details-benching-2007-world-cup
2. Here is a copy of the police report: http://time.com/3912052/hope-solo-domestic-violence-insulted-police-report/
3.  http://www.espn.com/pdf/2015/0529/espn_otl_solo_jailreport_Redacted.pdf
4. http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/20/ex-nfl-star-jerramy-stevens-arrested-los-angeles-hope-solo/:
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/01/22/why-hope-solo-got-suspended-over-husband-jerramy-stevenss-dui-arrest/?utm_term=.9190fac7e0af
6. http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/hope-solo-usa-team-van-jerramy-stevens-suspension-united-states-soccer-training-camp-012215
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/30/hope-solos-reaction-to-soccer-suspension-17-expletive-years-and-its-over/?utm_term=.ae371deea2e0
8. http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/08/24/22/42/160824-wnt-hope-solo-suspended-from-uswnt-for-six-months
9. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2015/06/07/hope-solo-controversy-police-report/28645755/
10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/25/suspension-shows-that-hope-solos-checkered-history-may-finally-be-her-undoing/?utm_term=.7608e2cd447b
11. http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/17452251/hope-solo-says-us-soccer-suspended-retaliation-wage-discrimination-lawsuit

We briefly mentioned  Hope Solo and issues with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which brings us to the next slide…