Nearly two weeks ago, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s goalie delivered some trash talk after unexpectedly losing to Sweden in the Rio Olympics quarterfinal game, and U.S. Soccer swiftly suspended the athlete over comments that “counter to the organization’s principles”.
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US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said the remarks by Solo, who was previously handed a 30-day suspension by the national federation in January 2015 for a “poor decision” during a training camp, were “unacceptable”.
Gulati added that Solo’s suspension was also “taking into consideration the past incidents involving Hope”, alluding to the goalkeeper’s checkered past, and it’s certainly convenient that that past is important now, when Solo is 35, her goalkeeping prime perhaps on the downswing anyway, her suspension for her litany of wrongs coming when she may have little left to offer US soccer on the field.
“Beyond the athletic arena, and beyond the results, the Olympics celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect”, Gulati said. National Team player. She’s seemed to have been in the headlines quite often in the past 5-7 years for reasons not related to soccer. And I think that’s part of the tactical side of things. “This was the first tournament where you can’t say she was hands down the best keeper there”, said Markgraf.
U.S. Soccer for years had two defensible paths with Solo. The Swedes played a safe and conservative game against a very aggressive United States team and won, narrowly. The termination of the contract could be more of an indication that this is also the first step toward turning the page (Solo will reportedly appeal both facets of the sanction). But characterizing it as the pivotal misbehavior meriting her suspension is a thinly veiled excuse to get rid of a player who has repeatedly tarnished the team’s image and is no longer good enough to justify the trouble of cleaning up her public relations messes.
Hope Solo has been nearly universally criticized for her heated comments, but the team’s attorney sees it differently. “To call them cowards for playing a tactically smart game is ridiculous and classless, and it really doesn’t represent the house that we built with the USA team”. And Pia is somewhat of a tactician, so she dropped her team into a 50 and tried to hit long balls. You saw us give everything we had today.
Solo won her second straight Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper at the Women’s World Cup a year ago. Solo (along with her teammates) also has spoken out forcefully about inferior field conditions that women face. I am saddened by the Federation’s decision to terminate my contract.
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The Seattle Reign stopper won’t be adding to her 202 national team caps until February 2017 at the earliest, and not everyone is convinced the call from US Soccer is the right one. There was gymnast Gabby Douglas, scolded for simply looking less than excited as other US gymnasts won individual events and she was reduced to a mere piece of the team, no longer its star. Still, the legal team headed by Rich Nichols contested their figures claiming that the women’s team earned almost all of the $18 million in projected profits for both teams. “My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the player, and the women’s game”.
