Bumps in the road
Hope Solo’s meltdown following a quarterfinal elimination at the Olympic Games wasn’t the first time she’s gotten in trouble for something that’s happened away from the field. Here’s a list of some of Solo’s other notable transgressions:
2007: After she was replaced by Briana Scurry for a World Cup semifinal the U.S. lost to Brazil, Solo criticized Coach Greg Ryan. “It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves.” She was immediately dismissed from the team, a sanction captain Kristine Lilly said was made by the players. Solo was reinstated as the starting goalkeeper by new Coach Pia Sundhage ahead of the 2008 Olympics.
2008: After a sterling performance by Solo helped the U.S. win the Olympic title in Beijing, she appeared on NBC’s “Today” appearing slightly disoriented and briefly confusing the Olympics with the World Cup. In a magazine article four years later Solo said she went on the air drunk.
2012: In the lead-up to the Olympics, Solo received a public warning after a urine test came back positive for canrenone, a banned steroidal antimineralocorticoid. She was soon cleared of any intentional wrongdoing and allowed to play in London, where she went on a Twitter tirade against NBC commentator and former national team star Brandi Chastain over mildly critical comments Chastain had made about the U.S. team. Solo was rebuked by Sundhage and the team’s captains in a private meeting but she was not publicly disciplined.
2014: Solo was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault in the fourth degree on suspicion of attacking her half-sister and her nephew. A judge dismissed the charges on technical grounds seven months later, but they were later reinstated on appeal. The case has yet to be resolved and it became an enduring sideshow during the 2015 Women’s World Cup after U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and others admonished U.S. Soccer for allowing Solo to remain on the World Cup roster.
2015: U.S. Soccer suspended Solo for 30 days after her husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens, was arrested in Manhattan Beach on suspicion of DUI while behind the wheel of a U.S. team van. Solo, who was in the passenger seat, was punished for “a poor decision that has resulted in a negative impact on U.S. Soccer and her teammates,” Coach Jill Ellis said.
2016: In the run-up to the Rio Games, Solo repeatedly expressed concerns over the mosquito-borne Zika virus before tweeting out a picture of herself in mosquito netting holding a bottle of insect repellent. Solo was booed lustily by Brazilian fans every time she touched the ball in the tournament.