A new video has emerged showing US soccer player Hope Solo’s reaction when she learned she had been suspended after making unsporting comments about the Swedish team during the 2016 Olympics.
“Seventeen f***king years and it’s over,” she says in the video.
US Soccer announced the goalkeeper’s six-month suspension last week, saying her conduct was “counter to the organisation’s principles.”
The suspension was tied to Solo’s comments in the aftermath of the Americans’ loss to Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Olympics. She called the Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” for their conservative style of play. US Soccer President Sunil Gulati said “the comment were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players.”
But the New York Post said a history of troubling behaviour also factored into the decision to suspend her.
Solo, 35, was arrested in 2014 and charged with two counts of domestic violence after an incident involving her half-sister and nephew. And she was suspended from the national team for 30 days in 2015 after she was stopped by police while riding in a US team van with Jeramy Stevens, her husband, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
The footage, in which Solo’s husband, can be seen trying to console her, is from the in-production documentary series Keeping Score, which follows the lives of three US women’s players.
After her suspension, Solo said in a statement: “For 17 years, I dedicated my life to the US 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 added: “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.”
Her reaction in the video was far more visceral.
“No f***king [unintelligible]. Six months. Suspension. No pay. Terminated contract, effective immediately. Terminated contract. Not just a suspension,” she said. “Seventeen f–king years, and it’s over.”
