Hope Solo, goalie for the U.S. national soccer team, will not be suspended from Olympic play, despite being summoned to meet with her coaches and captains following a rant on Twitter.
In a meeting with the press Monday, Solo mostly avoided answering questions about her tweets.
“I have my beliefs that the best commentators and the best analysts should be analyzing come Olympics, come World Cups, and it’s only my opinion,” she said, according to ESPN. “You can take it or leave it, to be honest, so it’s my opinion, and I think analysts and commentators should bring energy and excitement and passion for the game, and a lot of knowledge, and I think it’s important to help build the game, and I don’t think Brandi has that.”
Following the U.S.’s 3-0 victory against Colombia, Solo tweeted four criticisms of journalist and former U.S. player Brandi Chastian’s commentary during NBC’s broadcast of the game.
Its 2 bad we cant have commentators who better represents the teamknows more about the game @brandichastain! #fb
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 28, 2012
Lay off commentating about defending and gking until you get more educated @brandichastain the game has changed from a decade ago. #fb
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 28, 2012
I feel bad 4 our fans that have 2 push mute, especially bc @arlowhite is fantastic.@brandichastainshould be helping 2 grow the sport #fb
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 28, 2012
Its important 2 our fans 2 enjoy the spirit of the olympics.Its not possible when sum1 on air is saying that a player is the worst defender!
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) July 28, 2012
The AP reports coach Pia Sundhage told reporters she chose not to discipline Solo, though the two discussed the matter.
“We had a conversation: If you look at the women’s national team, what do you want [people] to see? What do you want them to hear?” said Sundhage. “And that’s where we do have a choice — as players, coaches, staff, the way we respond to certain things.”
SEE ALSO: Swiss Olympian Expelled From Games for Racist TweetSundhage didn’t tell Solo — who has a major online following, partly due to her appearance on Dancing With the Stars — to stop tweeting, either. According to co-captain Abby Wambach, the meeting only lasted for five minutes.
The U.S. women’s soccer team’s next match will be Tuesday against North Korea.
Do you think Solo deserved a more serious punishments for her tweets? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr user, Blog Gallery
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