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Gulati condemns Solo’s ‘highly inappropriate’ postgame comments

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Hope Solo caused shockwaves with her comments following the U.S. Women’s National Team’s surprising loss to Sweden, prompting U.S. Soccer’s president to speak out.

Sunil Gulati called Solo’s postgame comments “highly inappropriate” in the aftermath of the USWNT’s Olympic quarterfinal elimination. Following Friday’s penalty kick loss, Solo stated that she believes that the best team lost on the day while calling Sweden “a bunch of cowards”.

“While we are all very disappointed with the result of the match, Hope’s post-game comments were highly inappropriate and not in line with the expectations of U.S. Soccer or the ideals of the Olympic movement,” Gulati told Sports Illustrated. 

The USWNT’s loss to Sweden saw the end of the team’s pursuit of a fourth-straight gold medal, while also sealing the program’s earliest exit from an Olympic tournament.

What do you think of Gulati’s statement?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Same-same Spain said when we took’ed outta confer cup, broke their streak with similar tactics. Truth to it but rings of bitter, classless,

    Reply
    • Hope was talking about an opponent, and not a superior (within the chain of command). In fact, the women have recent history of doing just that against the USSF, but that was not the case in this situation.

      Considering how responsible the USSF is for their yearly salaries that may not be a bad idea to keep in perspective akin to a UMCJ.

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    • When has JK every said anything like what Solo said, maybe I’m just being forgetful? If Hope had said the better team didn’t win or we deserved to win its not a story. Its the coward part that’s the problem.

      Reply
  2. Athletes are competitors. They leave it all on the field. Winners hate losing more than they love winning. So Hope couldnt hold herself back. Neither could Cam Newton or many other ultra competative athletes. This is what makes them great. Could they be better sports, maybe?

    Why do we have to such sensitive little sissys when someone calls it like it is. Sweden play very physical anti football tactics with the plan to get a draw and win on penalties.

    Hope was right, so she wasn’t super gracious about losing big deal. I want my athletes to get pissed after losing it shows heart.

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    • Yeah I always thought Shaq should play basketball with great jump shooting, passing and speed of play. All that post play was boring, and unfair to the other players who weren’t able to complete with him physically. Dude, It’s Sweden’s job to win however they can within the rules of the game. If you had to slay a dragon you probably wouldn’t run straight at the damn thing. Call it boring soccer, not cowardice.

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    • Nope. Hope is an idiot and tactics exist in the game. Every team is mandated to play to whatever your made up standards for beautiful soccer are.

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    • This wasn’t in a press conference ten minutes after the match, she tweeted it unsolicited. She has every right to say “they were cynical” or “the better team didn’t win” when asked, but to come out on social media and call the team that just beat you “cowards” is beyond being ultra competitive. Athletes say this kind of thing all the time, on the team bus, in the locker room, when they get back to the hotel, but to each other and their friends not in public. Cam Newton at least had the sense to walk away when he couldn’t say anything nice.

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    • Sorry Joe, but I don’t buy that logic. Just an excuse for being an a**hole. I know plenty of great winners who hate losing but are decent enough people to congratulate someone who beats them or at least are self-aware enough to keep their piehole shut when they are emotional about losing. That’s part of being a grown-up.

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    • I have no problem with Solo showing her competitive spirit and stating her frustration about losing to a lesser team. I do have a problem with her inability to perceive that the US was tactically outmatched by Sweden and calling them cowards for playing a style of play that masked their inferiority and provided a level playing field. If thats how she feels about Sweden I wonder how she feels about Atletico Madrid or even Chile.

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  3. “While we are all very disappointed with the result of the match, Hope’s post-game comments were highly inappropriate and not in line with the expectations of U.S. Soccer or the ideals of the Olympic movement,”
    LOL
    Of course, getting drunk and stealing the team van, that’s perfectly acceptable. Beating your family members in a drunkerly fit of rage? That’s also fine. Talking badly about they other team? That’s where we draw the line. We are a classy organization after all, you know.

    Reply
    • Yea, none of the white knight apologists that defend this trash cared to show up yet.

      Hopefully they put on their armor soon or people might start to get the impression everyone agrees how much of a piece of s–t person she is.

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      • RB, once again, with a red herring fallacy deflecting the topic to make someone else the “bad guy” rather than the piece of s–t who made the quote and is being discussed.

        Ironically, you weren’t even named here, still responded, and continued the failure to provide any any coherent reasoning leaving everyone else to assume it’s simply due to her being a woman, attractive and your need to apply different standards.

        Just another lazy white knight.

      • More personal attacks.

        No response to what I did quickly provide the other day, even before you cautioned others not to hold their breath for a response.

        Ya got nothin’, Old School, except name calling, and I’m happy to continue calling you on it.

      • Frightful as that may be, your continued focus on anything BUT the person in question (Hope Solo) only solidifies the assessment of your unstable ground of any discernible reasoning for giving Hope a pass and displaying faux-offense to her being called a piece of s–t…for which she is.

        Building A is on fire, but RB is screaming up and down to look at Building B (which has nothing to do with Building A). Keep up your noble quest, young white knight, of defending the honor of trash. I’m absolutely certain you’re happy to do so and continue to welcome it for mine & everyone else’s amusement.

      • I wonder if you could string together 2-3 posts without resorting to name calling and personal attacks.

        You really, really don’t like it when people point out the lack of basis for your arguments, do you? Or the aspects of your approach that undermine your overall credibility (see your reply to SLA, for example).

        But I would agree that the situation is amusing. It’s not hard to imagine the steam coming out of your ears. 🙂

  4. It is possible to be both correct AND classless.

    Sweden’s bunker-style play was horrible to watch and ought to get an asterisk next to it, but it was fair and within the rules.

    there’s something called “good sportsmanship” that she has never really learned.

    Reply

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