U.S. Women's Soccer Star Hope Solo and the domestic violence case no one is talking about

U.S. / Pro Soccer Star Hope Solo is charged with assaulting her Sister & Sister's Minor Child. Neil Buethe, U.S. Soccer Director of Communications, is aware of assault charges. Hope played last night - U.S. vs Mexico - and Nike still endorses Hope Solo (photo by Jen Fuller / Getty Images).

Story by the Washington Post
Written by Cindy Boren

The official account shows that Hope Solo extended her shutout record to 73 games as the U.S. Women’s National Team beat Mexico 4-0 in a friendly Thursday night soccer match in Rochester, N.Y.

But as the NFL grapples with its domestic-violence crisis, Hope Solo, who has been accused of the same crime, continues to play for her pro soccer team as well as the "United States National Women's Soccer Team" as she awaits trial in November. Solo has pleaded not guilty to two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence in an alleged assault of her sister and 17-year-old nephew last summer in Kirkland, Wash.

Unlike some of the biggest NFL stars, Hope Solo, their counterpart in US Women’s Soccer and someone touted as "a role model", quietly goes about her business of keeping soccer balls from going into the net. NFL stars like Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyer and Adrian Peterson were banished after massive sponsor, political and fan pressure, but Nike, for instance, has has remained silent on Solo.

Rice is appealing an indefinite suspension by the NFL and was cut by the Baltimore Ravens after he knocked out his then-fiancee; Hardy and Peterson are both on the exempt commissioner’s list (essentially on leave with pay) while their legal cases are pending. Dwyer was suspended by the Arizona Cardinals after his arrest Wednesday on a charge of head-butting his wife. The Carolina Panthers’ Hardy is appealing his conviction by a judge of assaulting and threatening an ex-girlfriend; the Minnesota Vikings’ Peterson was arrested last weekend on a child-abuse charge.

Solo, who is also on the Seattle Sounders roster, continues to play as a big year for United States Women’s Soccer is looming with qualifying this fall for the next summer’s World Cup.

“We are aware that Hope is handling a personal situation at the moment,” said Neil Buethe, U.S. Soccer director of communications, told USA Today last month. “At the same time, she has an opportunity to set a significant record that speaks to her hard work and dedication over the years with the National Team. While considering all factors involved, we believe that we should recognize that in the proper way.”

While U.S. Soccer doesn’t have the same high profile as the NFL, how do the cases differ? Aren’t women’s soccer players just as much role models as male football players? The goalkeeping record is an an important one, both for Solo and for women’s soccer, but does it really trump an accusation of domestic violence? And why aren’t more people talking about the fact that domestic violence isn’t simply an issue of men against women?


Hope Solo listens to her attorney, Todd Maybrown, in an appearance in Kirkland Municipal Court on Monday, June 23rd. She was released on personal recognizance and ordered to avoid alcohol and contact with alleged victims. (photo by: Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

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Below from Cindy Baren's June 21st Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/06/21/hope-solo-arrested-on-domestic-violence-allegations-involving-sister-nephew

...Kirkland police released details of her arrest (via the Times):

On June 21st 2014 and just before 1:00 am, Kirkland Police Department Patrol Units responded to a 911 call of a disturbance in the 10600 block of 124th AVE NE. The male caller stated that a female at the residence was “hitting people” and they could not get her to stop or to leave the house. Officer arrived and immediately heard the sounds of the disturbance inside the residence.

They entered and contacted several persons; one being Hope A Stevens (Solo) who appeared intoxicated and upset. As officers made contact, they observed visible injuries on Solo’s 17-year-old nephew and on Solo’s sister. After receiving statements of the persons involved, Officers determined that Solo was the primary aggressor and had instigated the assault.

Solo was arrested on 2 counts of Domestic Violence Assault 4th Degree and booked into the south King County detention facility (SCORE). Solo will have a mandatory court appearance Monday June 23rd at the Kirkland Municipal Court, with the time yet to be determined.

The Seattle Reign, for whom Solo plays, said in a statement: “We are aware of the situation regarding Hope Solo and are currently gathering information. We have no further comments at this time.”
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Below from Cindy Baren's Washington Post June 24th article, "Hope Solo arrest: Nephew says she was drinking, called him ‘too fat to be an athlete’" http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/06/24/hope-solo-arrest-nephew-says-she-was-drinking-called-him-fat-and-unathletic/ :

....In court documents, according to the Seattle Times’ Christine Clarridge:

Solo’s nephew told police that his mother — Solo’s older half-sister — had just started letting Solo back into their lives, according to an affidavit of probable cause outlining the police case. Solo had apparently been estranged from the family because “she always does this,” the teen reportedly told police, an apparent reference to past problems.

Police wrote in the affidavit that the teen’s T-shirt was torn and he had scratch marks on his arms and a bleeding cut on his ear when officers arrived.

The teen told police the altercation began as he discussed theatrical productions he’d been in, the affidavit says. The teen explained that he believes that a good actor has to have an “athletic state of mind.”

Solo then told him he was “too fat and overweight and crazy to ever be an athlete,” according to the court document.

The teen responded by calling Solo a name, told her to get out of the house and then walked into another part of the house. Solo followed him and called him crazy again, the document says.

He told Solo that she and her father were crazy, according to the affidavit. Solo charged him, punched him in the face and tackled him, the court document alleges.

When the teen’s mother tried to intervene, Solo attacked her as well, the document says. The teen tried to pull Solo off his mother and then broke a wooden broom over her head, the document says.

Court documents say the 17-year-old “got an old gun that did not work” and pointed it at her in an attempt to get her to stop assaulting him and his mother and to leave. The handgun was ultimately determined by police to be a broken BB gun.

Solo would not leave, however, and was “circling like a shark,” the teen told police.

According to the affidavit, Solo’s half-sister got her out of the house, but Solo then walked around it, hopped over a fence and re-entered through a sliding door.