Brennan: Time for Hope Solo, U.S. Soccer to do things right this time around

Christine Brennan | USA TODAY Sports

Hope Solo is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Three months after helping to lead the U.S. soccer team to victory in the Women’s World Cup, Solo will again face domestic violence charges after a Washington state appeals court on Friday reversed a decision to throw out her much-discussed case.

We know where this story goes next, having lived it for the past 16 months:

Solo will deny everything and say she, not her half-sister, and not her nephew, was the victim. U.S. Soccer will stand idly by, embarrassing itself all over again by taking no action against Solo at a time when cultural concern about domestic violence in sports has never been greater.

Solo was arrested in June 2014 and charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence for attacking her then-17-year-old nephew and tackling him, then attacking her half-sister, Teresa Obert. Solo pleaded not guilty and the case was eventually dismissed on procedural grounds.

Now that the charges have been reinstated, it’s time for Solo and U.S. Soccer to handle things differently the second time around.

Solo, 34, should admit that violence did occur that night, and that she played a significant role in it. She should tell the truth and deal with the results. One would think that prosecutors would be willing to work with her on some kind of reduced charge that would involve counseling, restitution and perhaps community service.

At the same time, U.S. Soccer should throw the book at Solo, suspending her through the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games. For women’s soccer, the Olympics is a prestigious and important tournament, second only to the World Cup. It could be devastating for the U.S. team to not have Solo in goal next summer in Brazil.

Then again, does U.S. Soccer stand for anything these days other than winning? If federation officials, who should have suspended Solo more than a year ago, do not have the fortitude to finally handle this situation, the U.S. Olympic Committee should make it abundantly clear that a person charged with domestic violence has given up her privilege to be named an Olympian in 2016.

Listen to what Obert said the 5-9, 150-pound Solo did while in a drunken rage in June 2014.

“She grabbed (the nephew) by the head and she kept slamming him into the cement over and over again,” Obert told ESPN’s Outside the Lines. “So I came from behind her, and I pulled her over…to get her off my son. And then, once she got off, she started punching me in the face over and over again.”

Solo was celebrated as a hero all summer, with headlines and appearances and a ticker tape parade. Now, reality sets in. Perhaps this time around, U.S. Soccer officials will finally figure out how to do the right thing.

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