While goalkeeper Hope Solo thinks she was banned from the national team for her stance on equal pay, coach Jill Ellis says it was for the “sum total of actions”.
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Solo, U.S. all-time leading goalkeeper with 202 appearances, 150 wins and 103 shutouts, was handed a six-month suspension last month and had her national-team contract terminated.
Solo’s remarks, made last week after she was notified of her suspension, were aired for the first time Friday in the final episode of the documentary series “Keeping Score”.
“Over time there’s been off-the-field distractions for which the federation has taken action”, Ellis is when asked what went into the decision. “Each time action’s been taken, there’s been made clear an expectation that this would be the last time – such a step would be necessary. It was a sum total of actions that have unfortunately shown a negative light on our program”.
Solo was previously suspended for 30 days in 2015 for her conduct after a training camp incident.
“Seventeen years on this team, and then to be treated this way in the end is not surprising from U.S. Soccer, to be honest”, Solo said.
The USWNT returns to action for the first time since the Olympics and since Solo’s suspension on September 15, when they will face Thailand for a friendly in Columbus, Ohio.
After the US was eliminated in the quarterfinals at this year’s Olympics, the 35-year-old called Swedish players “a bunch of cowards” for parking the bus most of the match.
According to ESPN’s Mark Fainaru-Wada, Solo’s half-sister said Solo attacked her and her teenage son in June 2014. Earlier this year, an appeals court in Washington state rejected Solo’s request to avoid trial. Despite having her contract terminated by the national federation, Solo was still eligible to play for the Reign.
She became the first goalkeeper with 100 global shutouts when the United States defeated South Africa 1-0 in Chicago in July. Crowds in Rio later chanted “Zika” at her during a match.
Solo’s suspension comes amid the most contentious collective bargaining negotiation between the players and U.S. Soccer in a generation.
“After the Olympics the plan was always to prepare for 2019 and that means investing in the other goalkeepers and getting them playing time”. “And that’s still the process; it’s the same for every position, but right now, everything is about building to 2019 and the future”.
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