After the USA lost a penalty shoot-out-forfeiting an Olympic medal for the first time-goalkeeper Hope Solo called the Swedish players “a bunch of cowards” for their more conservative playing tactics.
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There is no mention of Solo stepping away from her global commitments. “We expect all of our representatives to honor those principles, with no exceptions”.
Regardless of the emotions that were raging behind Solo’s comments, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati was not pleased with her choice of words, and suspended the 35-year-old for six months starting immediately.
The full statement can be found on her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages. “My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the player, and the women’s game”.
Solo, who helped the team win the 2014 World Cup and two Olympic golds, had been suspended once before and is fighting domestic violence charges.
The general counsel for the women’s team, Rich Nichols, said it will appeal the suspension and termination, and called the punishment “unprecedented, disproportionate, and a violation of Ms”. Solo has had many issues off the field, including comments made against former head coach Greg Ryan for benching her in the World Cup Semi-Finals in 2007.
The reason for Solo’s suspension was the fact that she called the players on Sweden’s national team “a bunch of cowards” after losing in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics.
“She was sacked for making comments that a man never would have been fired for”, he added and told The Times that he plans to file a grievance on her behalf on Thursday, August 25.
Solo was previously suspended for 30 days in early 2015, with media reports claiming she was in the vehicle when husband Jerramy Stevens was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Solo, 35, has started for the US team for more than a decade. Stevens was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. As the passenger, Solo was not charged, but she reportedly acted belligerently.
Solo is still eligible to play in the National Women’s Soccer League.
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It seems like this is a normal thing for the Seattle Reign star – in January 2015 she was suspended for 30 days after an incident during a training camp.
