Tragic Details About Hope Solo
This article includes discussions of domestic violence.
Former U.S. Women's National Soccer Team goalkeeper, Hope Solo, is one of the best female athletes in her sport. The soccer star won the U.S. two Olympic gold medals and also earned a spot on the FIFA Women's World Cup All-Star Team in 2015. Although Solo is known for breaking records as a goalkeeper, she revealed during an interview for the Seattle Sounders that she wasn't a fan of the position growing up. "I didn't like goalkeeping because I had no knowledge of it," the athlete admitted.
It's a good thing that the soccer star found her calling on the field, because she later proved to be an Olympic-level athlete. Although Solo successfully developed a reputation as an incredible soccer player, she hasn't been as lucky off the field. The mother of two has been at the center of a number of controversies and hardships over the years, and one conflict ultimately cost her a career. She was let go from the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team after insulting the Swedish team at the Olympics in 2016. Her takeaway? She's seemingly satisfied with her legacy. The soccer star told AP News: "I hold almost every goalkeeping record. I am not sure there is much more that I could have done."
After revisiting these tragic details about Hope Solo, you might be surprised by her optimism.
Her DWI arrest tarnished her reputation
You might recall that Hope Solo made headlines for all the wrong reasons in March 2022 after she was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated with her two children in the backseat of her vehicle. According to People, authorities revealed that the incident occurred in a North Carolina Walmart parking lot. A passerby called police when she noticed that Solo was passed out in her car. A blood alcohol test revealed that the soccer star's blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit, per The Journal.
Solo later pleaded guilty to "driving while impaired." She was initially "charged with misdemeanor child abuse and resisting a public officer," but these charges were voluntarily dismissed in court, per the Winston-Salem Journal. The athlete will not spend time behind bars and was instead ordered to pay fines, and her driver's license was revoked.
Solo previously spent 30 days in an in-patient rehabilitation facility, and the judge gave her credit for the days she spent there in place of time behind bars, along with suspending her 24-month sentence, per The Journal. After her court date, Solo took to Instagram to share a lengthy message with her followers. "I underestimated what a destructive part of my life alcohol had become," she wrote in part. "The upside of making a mistake this big is that hard lessons are learned quickly. Learning these lessons has been difficult, and at times, very painful."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Hope Solo was arrested on domestic violence charges
Hope Solo's DWI arrest was not the first time she got in trouble with the law. In 2014, the athlete was arrested on domestic violence charges following an altercation among family members at a gathering. According to AP News, legal documents claimed that an argument between Solo and her then-17-year-old nephew turned violent.
When the boy's mother got involved in an attempt to end the fight, Solo allegedly punched her. The athlete's lawyer, Todd Maybrown, called his client a victim. "Hope is not guilty of any crime," he said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. "In fact, our investigation reveals that Hope was assaulted and injured during this unfortunate incident." Solo pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were later dropped on procedural grounds. However, this ruling was later appealed.
Solo's half-sister, Teresa Obert, told ESPN's "Outside The Lines" in 2015, "She grabbed him by the head and she kept slamming him into the cement over and over again," Obert alleged, detailing the events that reportedly led to Solo's arrest. "So I came from behind her, and I pulled her over and, you know, to get her off my son. And then, once she got off, she started punching me in the face over and over again." Despite the complications surrounding this case, charges were ultimately dropped in 2018.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
The former soccer star was punished after her husband's arrest
Hope Solo's husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens, has had quite a few run-ins with the law himself. Unfortunately for Solo, she faced consequences for her involvement in her husband's illegal activities. In 2015, TMZ reported that Stevens was arrested for a DUI. Solo was also in the vehicle at the time, and she allegedly wasn't cooperative at all. TMZ claimed that the couple got rowdy with police officers and even posed the question: "Don't you know who we are?" Stevens later received 30 days in jail for the DUI. The former football player's sentence also included a four-year probationary period as well as completion of a two-year alcohol program.
Although Solo lucked out with the legal system, her career still took a hit following her husband's arrest. The athlete was suspended from U.S. Soccer for 30 days because Stevens was driving a U.S. Soccer team vehicle at the time of his arrest, per TMZ. According to BuzzFeed News, U.S. Women's National Team head coach Jill Ellis issued a statement clarifying the team's decision. "During our current National Team camp, Hope made a poor decision that has resulted in a negative impact on U.S. Soccer and her teammates," she explained. "We feel at this time it is best for her to step away from the team." Solo also addressed the scandal on Facebook with a brief apology. It looks like Stevens won't be asking Solo for the keys to the team van anytime soon.
Her husband was arrested for assault, but he was never charged
Jerramy Stevens and Hope Solo's relationship had problems from the start. The couple met in college and reconnected after Stevens joined the NFL. In an interview with Elle, Solo recalled the moment Stevens revealed his feelings for her, and she didn't exactly respond well to the news. "I didn't know what to say," Solo said of the not-so-romantic moment. "So I said, 'F*** you,' and we didn't talk for a year."
It seems that this interaction foreshadowed the couple's tumultuous relationship, as they found themselves involved in a very public controversy in 2012. That year, just one day before their wedding, Stevens was arrested, though not charged, for "fourth-degree domestic violence assault," per ESPN. Police reports revealed that the incident occurred after Solo and Stevens got into a heated argument. Court records reported that Solo was injured during the altercation.
In Solo's interview with Elle, she revealed that the altercation that resulted in her husband's arrest was a fight among family members that turned violent. " ... Our two a**hole brothers, basically, get into this argument," she told the magazine. She explained that the incident occurred during a gathering the night before her wedding. "We thought everyone could just be happy for us," the soccer star said. "It was dumb." Though the details are complicated, Solo's recollection of the fight is as close as we'll get to knowing the full story.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Hope Solo had a complicated relationship with her father
When Hope Solo released her memoir "Solo: A Memoir of Hope," in 2013, she proved that she's unafraid to be transparent about some of the darkest details of her life. Much of the book focused on Hope's complicated relationship with her father, Jeffrey John Solo. "He showered me with love; he just didn't know how to be a husband or a father or a responsible member of society," she wrote of the troubled parent. The family often found themselves hurt by Jeffrey's actions and the trouble he got into, including his alleged involvement in a murder. Thankfully, he was eventually cleared of these charges.
Still, Hope endured a likely terrifying experience under her father's care that was also uncovered in her book. She revealed that her father kidnapped her and her brother and hid them away in a hotel for days. Hope's mother later came to the rescue, but the soccer player was still upset at both parents following the incident. "I boiled with anger," she wrote. "I was mad at my mother for taking us home. Mad at my father for lying to us. Mad at myself for doing something wrong. I was mad at the world."
Despite Jeffrey's tumultuous relationship with his ex-wife and his children, the family still mourned his passing after he died from a heart attack in 2007. "If I hadn't made peace with him later in my life, I'd still be bitter and angry," Hope explained in her memoir.