Keep score. Hope Solo has been through plenty of highs and lows — both personal and professional — since beginning her U.S. soccer career.
The Washington native was a goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team from 2000 to 2016, winning two Olympic gold medals and a FIFA World Cup title. Despite being widely considered the best in her field she has seen her legacy marred by multiple scandals.
Solo was suspended multiple times by the U.S. Soccer Federation before her contract was officially ended. The most notable was in 2016, following the Rio Olympics. When the American athletes were defeated by the Swedish team and knocked out of medal contention, Solo called her opponents “a bunch of cowards.” She was officially axed from the team following her comments.
“For 17 years, I dedicated my life to the U.S. Women’s National Team and did the job of a pro athlete the only way I knew how — with passion, tenacity, an unrelenting commitment to be the best goalkeeper in the world, not just for my country, but to elevate the sport for the next generation of female athletes,” she wrote in a social media statement in August 2016. “In those commitments, I have never wavered. And with so much more to give, I am saddened by the Federation’s decision to terminate my contract.”
Solo continued at the time: “I could not be the player I am without being the person I am, even when I haven’t made the best choices or said the right things. My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the players and the women’s game and I will continue to pursue these causes with the same unrelenting passion with which I play the game.”
While reflecting on her time in the professional arena, Solo alleged that she wasn’t always treated fairly by her teammates. “It was a mean girls club,” she claimed on a January 2021 episode of “The Players” podcast. “Most players have come from rich, white families. That is the culture of the United States women’s national team. It is a very privilege-oriented, white culture. … It is a much more open and welcome environment [now].”
At the time, Solo argued that she felt “bullied” by some of her colleagues. Solo claimed that she and her teammate failed to make any changes. Carli LloydThey were treated as outsiders. “People were not nice to us,” Solo continued. “{eople were not welcoming, they didn’t invite you to sit at the dinner table. It was really difficult growing up on the national team for me in a social aspect, as well as learning the game.”
The University of Washington alumnae have had to deal with the same challenges. Solo experienced a miscarriage in 2018 after she made public her engagement to her husband. Jerramy StevensThey were expecting twins. The couple, who were married in 2012, welcomed twins Lozen & Vittorio two year later.
Solo was once again in the news in March 2022 when she was arrested in North Carolina, accused of driving under the influence while with her children. Her lawyer addressed the charges after Solo was released from police custody. Us Weekly.
“On the advice of counsel, Hope can’t speak about this situation,” Rich Nichols said. “But she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges.”
Scroll down to look back at Solo’s ups and downs over the years:
