The autopsies have been conducted on the United States Women’s National Team early exit from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. There is blame deservedly all around, but one particular scapegoat is greatly overshadowing all the others. Goalkeeper Hope Solo said postgame that the USWNT lost to a “bunch of cowards” in Sweden.
In actuality, there was nothing cowardly at all about the Swedes’ performance. They’re a “park the bus” team, and that’s exactly what they did. We all saw it coming too. It’s on USA Coach Jill Ellis for not having a better strategy to counter it, and in game, not adjust to it.
“Sweden dropped off,” Solo fumed. “They didn’t want to open play. They didn’t want to pass the ball. They didn’t want to play great soccer. It was a combative game, a physical game. Exactly what they wanted and exactly what their game plan was.
“They didn’t try to press,” she added. “They didn’t want to open the game. And they tried to counter with long balls.”
Former USWNT Coach Pia Sundhage dominated the tactical battle, and in doing so she exacted a measure of revenge. That’s not the view of Hope Solo however, who Friday added “sore loser” to the list of pejoratives that you can accurately apply to her character.
I couldn’t agree more with the view of USA Today’s Nancy Armour:
“Solo’s comments were befitting of neither an American star nor an Olympian. She ought never wear the U.S. uniform again.”
That’s a possibility now, as US Soccer has suspended Solo for six months and also terminated her contract.
During group play I wrote an in-depth profile on Solo for Bold.
Despite her transcendent dominance on the pitch, and her admirable work to bring social justice off-the-pitch, Solo is still not a good role model. This becomes evident when you look at the legal rap sheet of both her and her husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens.On November 12, 2012, Stevens was arrested on investigation of assault following an altercation that left Solo injured. The judge dismissed the charges, and the couple got married the very next day.On June 21, 2014, Solo was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault in the fourth degree; one against her half-sister and the other against her nephew. The case was thrown out of municipal court on procedural grounds, but prosecutors appealed, and the charges were revived last October.In 2015, Solo let her husband drive a U.S. Soccer team van, with Stevens then getting arrested for DUI. According to TMZ, who originally broke the story, he had a BAC of four times the legal limit. Reportedly, this was the reason Hope was then suspended from the team for a month.So while some Americans will feel the need to root for her unconditionally, perhaps galvanized by the boos from fans of opposing nations, other USA fans, aware of her issues, will find cognitive dissonance in cheering for Solo.
The laundry list also now includes the Sweden comments, and what happened in 2007, when she “was exiled from the team in 2007 after she criticized then-coach Greg Ryan’s choice to put Scurry in over her in a crucial World Cup game.
Then there’s 2013, when she lashed out at USWNT legend Julie Foudy over a perceived slight.
In other words, “off-the-pitch issues” have been a very persistent pattern with Solo, and you have to wonder what will finally be “a bridge too far” for US Soccer? What’s “the final straw,” or is this just another “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it?” Solo is probably the greatest goalkeeper alive, and maybe the best keeper ever.
We say this even though she was about as impressive as Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet from the Colombia game onward in the Olympics. Solo is great at what she does, but she’s on the wrong side of 35 now. She’ll be 38 in the next World Cup, 39 in the next Summer Olympiad. Much more importantly, what will be her next transgression off the field that disgraces the program?
You know what she’s capable of, but what might she do next? US Soccer needs to take pre-emptive action for the future, before something worse happens. Suspending for six months, and then terminating her contract seems to be exactly that kind of required mandated action.
Also, they need to see what they have regarding other options in goal.
Hope Solo has had a transcendent career, and she’s been so dominant that no other keepers have accrued much playing time. Number two Alyssa Naeher has potential, but now we need to see more from her. (Here’s a link to more on Naeher)
Likewise with Ashlyn Harris. We’ve seen both perform with extreme dominance in the NWSL, and flash potential in international play. Naeher has just seven caps, Harris only eight.
It seems to be Naeher’s turn next, but who knows when that will be. Of this we can be certain though, Naeher, or whoever it is that steps in next will be an instant fan favorite, due to just how polarizing Hope Solo is.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.