Today in class a few people (including myself) raised questions about the “Hope Solo Incident” at the 2007 Women’s World Cup.
I don’t have a whole lot to say in this post (maybe more in a future post), but to start I wanted to share some links to articles I found interesting and insightful.
A brief summary of events: Hope Solo started in goal for the US for the first four games of the 2007 World Cup. In those four games she gave up 2 goals and had 3 shutouts. For the semifinal match against Brazil then-coach Greg Ryan opted to play Briana Scurry in goal. Scurry was heroic in the US victory in the 1999 Women’s World Cup. She had a history of good performance against the Brazilian team (our semifinal foe) in the past but had not played a full game in over three months. In the end, the US lost to Brazil 4-0. During a post-game interview Solo voiced her frustration with Ryan’s decision. “It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it’s not 2004 anymore. It’s not 2004. And it’s 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can’t live by big names. You can’t live in the past. It doesn’t matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game in the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that’s what I think.” Solo was kicked off the team and was not permitted to be in attendance for the consolation game (which the US won 4-1 against Norway)…more fall out ensued.
Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated says “Her World Cup outburst violated the team-first ethos of women’s sports and made her an outcast. Now Hope Solo is the U.S. goalie once again, bound for Beijing–and still trying to figure it all out.” June 30, 2008. Read more here.
George Dohrmann nominated Hope Solo for 2008 Sportsman of the year. November 11, 2008. Read more here.
Jason Zengerle of The Atlantic calls Hope Solo “The Bad Girl of Women’s Soccer” and says “[she]–loudmouth, showboat, jerk–may be the best thing that’s ever happened to her sport.” September 2009. Read more here.
