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Solo assault trial set for November

Hope Solo

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By CAITLIN MURRAY

Hope Solo should not have to miss any additional time this season with Seattle Reign FC or miss World Cup qualifiers with U.S. Women’s National Team, despite her legal woes.

She will stand trial for fourth-degree domestic violence assault on Nov. 4, a judge said Monday, long after both the National Women’s Soccer League and CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers end.

Solo, 32, was arrested in June for allegedly assaulting her 17-year-old nephew and his mother, her half-sister, while intoxicated at a family gathering. She had plead not guilty and a judge issued a no-contact order with the alleged victims and prohibited Solo from drinking alcohol.

In court Monday, her attorney signaled she would seek to have the evidence and charges against her dismissed, according to one Seattle-area report.

Solo is the starting goalkeeper for Reign FC, which have dominated the NWSL and look poised to win the championship at the end of the month. She is also the starting goalkeeper for the USWNT, which will go through World Cup qualifiers from Oct. 15 – 26 to secure a spot in next summer’s tournament.

After her arrest, Solo skipped a Reign away game in Rochester, N.Y. and was informally given a one-game suspension as punishment. The club later issued a statement indicating Solo may face formal punishment once the legal process is completed.

U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati had indicated the federation would also wait for the case to work through the courts before acting.

Shortly after her arrest, Solo issued a public statement expressing confidence that the charges against her would be dropped, even as she apologized for her arrest, writing: “I understand that, as a public figure, I am held to a higher standard of conduct. I take seriously my responsibilities as a role model and sincerely apologize to everyone I have disappointed.”

Comments

  1. I’m just glad she’s being allowed to play out the season for her club and the league before she’s forced to deal with the consequences of her actions.

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  2. Guilty or not…Solo is definitely not innocent in the court of public opinion. She’s a wild child. It seems like she is always making news for being involved in altercations.

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  3. Ray rice got two games, which is very lenient. Solo goes on a rampage and punches multiple people and gets no suspension…..

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  4. “I understand that, as a public figure, I am held to a higher standard of conduct.”

    I’m a private figure. Does that mean I can get drunk and beat up my family? I wonder why elites don’t just say, “I messed up. I was wrong. I’m sorry.” I use Solo as the example here, but there are far worse “BS offenders,” like every politician ever.

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    • I would say that a public acceptance of responsibility probably doesn’t help once you’ve entered a “not guilty” plea. But you have a point in the sense that any opportunity to own and address this (alleged) pattern behavior does not seem to have been embraced to any meaningful extent. If there is no problem, then that’s fine. But boy the price goes up every time you dismiss these opportunities in favor of a bandage solution from your attorney.

      Her decision, her choice. I don’t get a good feeling about it though.

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    • Frankly, she shouldn’t have said anything. Anything she says can be used against her in a trial, and she has the right not say anything. The odds that the prosecutors use that statement against her if she testifies is roughly 100%.

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  5. So, whats more serious, biting somebody during the heat of a game or drunkenly domestic abuse?
    I thinks the team should have taken a firm stand against domestic abuse by suspending her for at least a year but I understand how much money she makes for the organization.

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      • I do know that her own flesh and blood are pressing charges against her otherwise it wouldn’t be going to court, that seems pretty serious.

      • “otherwise it wouldn’t be going to court”: not true. I’ve known of cases where people didn’t want to press charges, but D.A. did regardless.

    • Sounds to me like she needs 28 days somewhere to dry out — probably now instead of soccer — less emphasis on the charges themselves, which may be a side effect.

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      • She was arrested, charged and suspended. Domestic violence is never a “family matter”
        personally I wouldn’t take my daughter to the stadium to cheer for somebody with a history of domestic abuse nor for the team she plays for.
        I guess that’s a personal matter.

      • Where does it say a “history” of abuse? This has nothing to do with the team unless the league and/or team has a personal conduct clause in her contract which I assume it does. That said, comparing it to a repeat biter is silly. Looks like she got drunk and went off. Not sure if she’s done this type of thing before so it sounds silly to make more of it than it is.mim surprised it’s going to trial. Even on Cops they just get a night in the drunk tank to dry out and a fine.

      • She’s showing signs that All Is Not Well in Hopeland, but she would be neither the first nor the last celebrity or competitive athlete to be Not Well.

        Hopefully – no pun intended – she can keep it together enough to close out her career with some dignity and go on to be a pundit/coach/announcer/whatever, and not make herself a pariah to the game. She’s been really, really good for the USA and I’d hate to see her spontaneously combust.

        I admire her, especially with all that she went through in life, and it wouldn’t do the women’s game any good if she spontaneously combusts or winds up in jail.

      • Joseph, maybe a refresher course regarding one john harkes and his situation might help shed some light on the rationale.

    • I assume you have never dealt with law enforcement and see that they are not hired to protect and serve, contrary to their motto,but to enforce the law. They have charged her with a crime which the courts will determine if a crime was committed. I am pretty sure she regrets letting things get out of hand and /or letting drinking cloud her judgement. I am sure nobody here has ever ever done that before. Once you involve law enforcement you have now put yourself and your family in the spotlight and at the mercy of a court room where they (the legal system) will get paid no matter what the outcome is. I have a strong feeling that she will be sent to some type of anger/ alcohol counseling and a nice fine will be imposed. I am pretty sure she is not a violent person and regrets that night and hopefully learns from it. Good luck to her and her family.

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