Former USWNT star goalkeeper Hope Solo was supposed to join Clint Dempsey in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2022, however she has now asked to be inducted next year. Solo posted on social media Friday that she is entering herself into an alcohol treatment program.
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) April 29, 2022
This announcement from Solo comes roughly a month after she was arrested in North Carolina when she was found passed out behind the wheel in a Walmart parking lot with her two 2-year-old twins in the vehicle.
Solo was charged with driving while impaired, misdemeanor child endangerment and misdemeanor resisting arrest for refusing to get out of the car. She spent a night in jail and will appear in court on June 28.
This isn’t her first run-in with the law as eight years ago she was arrested for allegedly attacking two family members, but those charges were dropped.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame released a statement in support of Solo:
“Legendary USWNT goalkeeper and 2022 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Hope Solo has chosen to defer her induction until 2023. The NSHOF fully supports her decision and looks forward to honoring her and her historic achievements at next year’s induction ceremony.”
Typically, in these kinds of stories it ends with listing off a player’s stats and achievements, but I thought I would do it a little different.
Solo is one of the more polarizing figures in the U.S. soccer sphere for better or for worse. Her playing days are far behind her but she’s only 40 years old. She has made some mistakes in her life, but the first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is one.
Hopefully any USWNT fan or person should be hoping that Solo gets the help she needs to better her life. It most likely wasn’t an easy decision to postpone her induction, but her doing so for the betterment of her health and family is commendable.
