A documentary film team got some unexpected, emotionally raw footage of an angry Hope Solo moments after she learned she was suspended from the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT).
“Seventeen f—-ing years and it’s over!” an angry Ms. Solo is shown yelling as her husband, Jerramy Stevens, a former NFL tight end, tries to console her. The moment was captured by a videographer for a documentary to be titled, “Keeping Score,” which follows the lives of three USWNT players, according to the Daily Mail.
U.S. Soccer announced Ms. Solo’s half-year suspension on Aug. 24, a punishment levied for the 35-year-old goalkeeper’s denouncing the Swedish national soccer team as “cowards.”
“Beyond the athletic arena, and beyond the results, the Olympics celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect. We expect all of our representatives to honor those principles, with no exceptions,” U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said in a statement at the time.
Sweden had pulled off a shocking upset of the favored U.S. women in a penalty kickoff shootout in the Aug. 12 quarterfinal game. As a result the USWNT was eliminated from medal contention, a stunning blow to a team that has won gold in every Olympics since 1996, except for the 2000 Syndey games, in which it won silver.
For her part, Ms. Solo remains unapologetic about her remarks.
“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,” Ms. Solo recently told Sports Illustrated, the Daily Mail reported.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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