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U.S. Soccer suspends Hope Solo over “poor decision”

Hope Solo Sept.18 by Mark Konezny-USA Today Sports

By CAITLIN MURRAY

Hope Solo may not be going to jail, but she will be off the U.S. Women’s National Team for a month.

One week after Solo had criminal assault charges against her dismissed, U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that Solo will be suspended for 30 days over an unrelated incident. The suspension is effective immediately and, as a result, Solo will miss the USWNT’s first matches of the year, a pair of friendlies in France and England early next month.

U.S. Soccer did not offer specifics surrounding the incident, but TMZ reported this week that Solo’s husband, Jerramy Stevens, was arrested for drunken driving near Carson, California, where the USWNT has an ongoing training camp, while Solo rode as a passenger. Unnamed sources told TMZ Solo had been belligerent with police officers.

“During our current National Team camp, Hope made a poor decision that has resulted in a negative impact on U.S. Soccer and her teammates,” said USWNT coach Jill Ellis in a statement. “We feel at this time it is best for her to step away from the team.”

After her 30-day suspension, Solo will be eligible for reinstatement, pending review and approval by U.S. Soccer and Ellis.

“I accept and respect the Federation’s decision, and more importantly, I apologize for disappointing my teammates, coaches and the Federation who have always supported me,” Solo said in a statement late Wednesday. “I think it’s best for me to take a break, decompress from the stress of the last several months, and come back mentally and physically ready to positively contribute to the team.”

Stevens’ DUI arrest marks the latest in a long string of legal run-ins for the former NFL player.

Solo’s National Women’s Soccer League club team, the Seattle Reign, said the matter was being handled by U.S. Soccer.

“Hope is not scheduled to return to Reign FC until early April,” a statement on the Reign’s Facebook page said. “Given the circumstances surrounding the suspension, and based our recent discussions with U.S. Soccer about this incident, Seattle Reign FC has no plans to take any additional action at this time.”

Solo’s suspension comes one week after fourth-degree assault charges against her were dropped due to lack of cooperation from the alleged victims.

Solo, 33, had been charged with two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault for allegedly attacking her 17-year-old nephew and his mother, her half sister, in June. But the alleged victims were uncooperative, failing to go through court-ordered depositions and changing their stories, causing Judge Michael Lambo to dismiss the case.

Controversy swirled over the allegations, with many calling for U.S. Soccer to suspend Solo, but U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said the legal process would need to play out before decisions were made regarding Solo’s standing with the team.

The USWNT is in a training camp until Jan. 25. After that, the USWNT will open 2015 with a pair of overseas matches Feb. 8 against France and Feb. 13 against England.

Comments

    • Sadly, I think we’re ultimately going to watch her be forced into “retirement” via the legal system. My prayers are with her in what appears to be very serious issues with emotion and substance.

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  1. She has self entitlement issues has always has had attitude issues and is generally trashy. But last i checked being a drama queen isn’t illegal and she hasn’t been convicted of anything. Her biggest crime is marrying that goof. Sounds like she might have some underlying issues her recent troubles have been alcohol related.

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    • Being a drama queen isn’t illegal, but it may be enough to get you fired. She has likely been warned more than a few times to clean up her conduct. Some for on the field, and some for off the field incidents. USSF (or any employer) doesn’t have to wait for her to be arrested and convicted before letting her go.

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  2. I once asked a friend if he was okay to drive after we had been out drinking. He assured me he was (it was his car). The next day he told me he lied and was really drunk. Who hasn’t ridden in a car with a drunk driver in their life? I don’t know of anywhere where that is illegal. I’m guessing at least 50% of the population has done this. As for her belligerence, it seems unusual that if she were a problem that she wasn’t arrested. I have problems with what I consider lack of due process.

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    • I don’t think US Soccer needs a reason, there can be no complaint about lack of due process. She isn’t being charged with anything. It’s possible that they took the domestic violence claim into account when making this decision. She’s not technically in trouble with the law, but she clearly can’t stay out of bad situations and it’s becoming a distraction to the team. When you’re a pro athlete you are held to a high standard.

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    • Think Charlie Davies. Bad decisions like that can have consequences not only for yourself, but also for your teammates.

      I would call this a wise decision by Ellis.

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    • Not giving you a hard time, by knowing what is being reported now, are you less uncomfortable with the action taken against the player?

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  3. Hey Ives. Something is wrong with your site. When I try to open sbisoccer.com using Google Chrome, the site automatically redirects to an ad. It happens every time, making the website literally unviewable. Very annoying. I am using Internet Explorer right now.

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  4. Jeeesh, I hope (no pun intended) she gets her act together. And this after I purchased WWC tix today. I want to see her in goal in Canada.

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  5. Stevens can’t stay out of trouble, despite countless second chances, and now, neither can Solo. Sad, but these two seem to be made for each other.

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    • I wouldn’t be surprised if she was read the riot act after previous alcohol related incidents and thus when she is involved in this subsequent alcohol-fueled train wreck she’s getting whacked as much for “repeat infringement” — and perhaps to give her time for rehab — as she is for any specific current incident.

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