Hope Solo is one of the most renown athletes around. She is known for being one of the best American soccer goalkeepers in the world and proved that last year with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team at the World Cup, which they won. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer team set out to prove to the world that they can be champions once again at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
In hopes of winning the Olympic gold once again, Solo and her teammates fell short against Sweden in the quarterfinals. It was a tough loss for the women especially with it being such a close game and only to lose in penalty kicks. All of the players of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team were very upset after loss, but it was Solo whose comments stuck out the most.
“I thought that we had many opportunities on goal,” Solo said after the loss. “I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down; I’m very proud of this team. I also think we played a bunch of cowards. But, you know, the best team did not win today; I strongly, firmly believe that. I think you saw America’s heart. You saw us give everything that we had today. Unfortunately, the better team didn’t win.”
Her comment sparked a lot of conversation about Solo and whether or not it was of good sportsmanship. The U.S. Soccer eventually suspended Solo for six months for her comments because it did not represent what the U.S. Soccer principles are.
As an athlete myself, I agree with Solo’s suspension and that U.S. Soccer was right for doing that. No matter how bad a loss is or how great a win is, as an athlete you should always show your best sportsmanship. When you are out there with your team and wearing that jersey you should show nothing but the best of yourself especially while you are representing your country.
Solo later admitted that she is the biggest sore loser, but that still does not mean she should say those comments about another team in a negative way when they played just as hard. Being a professional athlete means that all eyes are going to be on you and young children are always looking up to you. Solo is setting a bad example for today’s youth and this is not the first time that her actions have caused drama. Being in the spotlight you have to be cautious of your actions and it does not matter if you are the best in the world, you still do not have the right to show such poor sportsmanship and careless actions.
Solo made the decision easy for U.S. Soccer to suspend her and I agree with their decision.
