The United States women’s team is set to take the pitch tonight in the Women’s World Cup, but a shadow has been cast over this year’s group thanks to a re-hashing of goalie Hope Solo’s ugly domestic violence case.
Solo’s case was recently dismissed, and Solo took the opportunity to make media rounds proclaiming she was the victim of violence, not the perpetrator. One of her alleged victims, her half-sister Teresa Obert, spoke to ESPN’s Outside The Lines to contradict Solo’s version of events.
According to Obert, Solo attacked her 17-year-old nephew and punched him repeatedly while slamming his head onto a concrete floor. When Obert pulled Solo off of him, Solo began punching Obert. The nephew reportedly broke a broomstick over Solo’s head to calm her down, and Solo was eventually arrested.
Solo was intoxicated at the time of arrest, and belligerent toward officers while in custody. Per the police report, Solo even told one officer she would “kick his ass” if she wasn’t handcuffed.
In light of the fresh re-opening of this wound, Solo skipped media availability ahead of tonight’s clash with Australia. Teammate Abby Wambach wanted no part of answering questions about Solo’s legal woes or personal life.
“We’re here to play soccer,” Wambach said. “I’m excited to be a part of this team and Hope’s my teammate. We are creating a bubble and we want nothing to penetrate that bubble right now. Our focus is playing Australia tomorrow.”
Wambach said nothing has changed in their routine despite the explosion of attention being paid to Solo’s allegations. “ … You’d be surprised at how normal life is right now. We had a fantastic session, everybody is happy in the locker room, all of our focus is on what we can individually do to help our team win games. Nothing else is going to get in the way.”
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