No discipline against Seattle's Hope Solo over Twitter rant
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Seattle's Hope Solo met with the coach and captains of the U.S. women's soccer team Sunday to discuss her latest outburst of candor, a Twitter rant that did no good for the image of the squad and distracted from preparations for the upcoming game against North Korea in the Olympic tournament.
Coach Pia Sundhage said Solo will not be disciplined for the series of tweets that criticized former U.S. player Brandi Chastain's commentary during the NBC broadcast of the Americans' 3-0 win over Colombia on Saturday.
"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?" Sundhage told reporters at the team hotel. "And that's where we do have a choice — as players, coaches, staff, the way we respond to certain things."
Solo rattled off four tweets following Saturday's game, upset over Chastain's criticisms of the team's defensive play.
"Its 2 bad we cant have commentators who better represents the team&knows more about the game," tweeted Solo. She also told Chastain to "lay off commentating about defending" and goalkeeping "until you get more educated" and "the game has changed from a decade ago."
Those are hardly the type of positive comments the naturally upbeat Sundhage likes to hear, especially in the middle of one of the sport's biggest showcases.
"On the field, it's OK to make a mistake. There's no such thing as a perfect game," Sundhage said. "And sometimes you make a mistake outside the field as well. Myself as well. I've regretted that I've said that or whatever, but at the end of the day if you have good teammates and recognize it and say something that we are proud of, then it is easier to prepare for the next game — because it's all about the next game."
The meeting with Solo took place after the team arrived in Manchester, where the Americans (2-0) will play the North Koreans on Tuesday in a game that will determine pairings for the quarterfinals. Co-captain Abby Wambach said the meeting lasted about five minutes.
The team said will Solo be available for comment Monday, following a walkthrough at Old Trafford. She did take to Twitter again on Sunday, however, to respond to a reporter's tweet that she wouldn't be disciplined.
"discipline? Ha! For what! Never even a topic! We talked about our team deserving the best!" she tweeted.
Chastain, one of the most accomplished players in U.S. team history, refused to be drawn into the fray.
"I'm here to do my job, which is to be an honest and objective journalist at the Olympics, nothing more than that," said Chastain, who earned 192 caps from 1988-2004 and is best known for scoring the decisive penalty kick in the World Cup final in 1999.
Wambach said the meeting focused on the goal of maintaining a "bubble" around the team during the Olympics.
"We just wanted to get on the same page on the things that we are focused on," Wambach said. "And the things that we're going to be talking about, whether it be in the media or behind closed doors with your teammates. ... We have to appreciate different people's personalities and their opinions. However, we also want to create a bubble. We want to create some sort of symmetry in terms of what we're doing here and why we're here, and that's what we're all about."
Wambach also noted that TV commentators have nothing to do with winning gold medals.
"At the end of the day, none of it matters," Wambach said. "Because what really does matter is the results."
Sundhage said she didn't tell Solo to stop tweeting or to tone it down.
"I don't punish people," Sundhage said. "And I don't know what's right and wrong."
Five years ago, Solo expressed an opinion that made her the recipient of the starkest punishment ever dealt to a U.S. women's national team player. She was essentially kicked off the squad at the 2007 World Cup after she criticized then-coach Greg Ryan for benching her for the semifinals.
She made her way back onto the team to become arguably the best goalkeeper in team history, anchoring the gold-medal run at the 2008 Olympics and winning the golden glove award for top goalie at last year's World Cup in Germany.
Now she's a media superstar, highlighted by her appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" last fall, and she hasn't stopped making waves. Three weeks ago, she had what is believed to be the first positive drug test in the history of the program, receiving a warning over the banned substance Canrenone. She said it resulted from a premenstrual medication prescribed by her doctor.
Solo was also one of several athletes quoted extensively in an ESPN The Magazine story about sex in the athletes village during the Beijing Olympics and has also been promoting her book "A Memoir of Hope," scheduled for release two days after the London Games.
Nevertheless, Sundhage said she's not concerned about Solo's focus.
"Hope is different," Sundhage said. "What I see is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. If you look back, she's been dancing with the stars, she'd been in a lot of media, she's done this and that, and you would think, 'Well, will she ever come back to the game and will this be a distraction?' If you look at the way she played the first two games, I would say no. She's ready. She prepared. She wants to win, and she know what she needs to do."
Coach Pia Sundhage said Solo will not be disciplined for the series of tweets that criticized former U.S. player Brandi Chastain's commentary during the NBC broadcast of the Americans' 3-0 win over Colombia on Saturday.
"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?" Sundhage told reporters at the team hotel. "And that's where we do have a choice — as players, coaches, staff, the way we respond to certain things."
Solo rattled off four tweets following Saturday's game, upset over Chastain's criticisms of the team's defensive play.
"Its 2 bad we cant have commentators who better represents the team&knows more about the game," tweeted Solo. She also told Chastain to "lay off commentating about defending" and goalkeeping "until you get more educated" and "the game has changed from a decade ago."
Those are hardly the type of positive comments the naturally upbeat Sundhage likes to hear, especially in the middle of one of the sport's biggest showcases.
"On the field, it's OK to make a mistake. There's no such thing as a perfect game," Sundhage said. "And sometimes you make a mistake outside the field as well. Myself as well. I've regretted that I've said that or whatever, but at the end of the day if you have good teammates and recognize it and say something that we are proud of, then it is easier to prepare for the next game — because it's all about the next game."
The meeting with Solo took place after the team arrived in Manchester, where the Americans (2-0) will play the North Koreans on Tuesday in a game that will determine pairings for the quarterfinals. Co-captain Abby Wambach said the meeting lasted about five minutes.
The team said will Solo be available for comment Monday, following a walkthrough at Old Trafford. She did take to Twitter again on Sunday, however, to respond to a reporter's tweet that she wouldn't be disciplined.
"discipline? Ha! For what! Never even a topic! We talked about our team deserving the best!" she tweeted.
Chastain, one of the most accomplished players in U.S. team history, refused to be drawn into the fray.
"I'm here to do my job, which is to be an honest and objective journalist at the Olympics, nothing more than that," said Chastain, who earned 192 caps from 1988-2004 and is best known for scoring the decisive penalty kick in the World Cup final in 1999.
Wambach said the meeting focused on the goal of maintaining a "bubble" around the team during the Olympics.
"We just wanted to get on the same page on the things that we are focused on," Wambach said. "And the things that we're going to be talking about, whether it be in the media or behind closed doors with your teammates. ... We have to appreciate different people's personalities and their opinions. However, we also want to create a bubble. We want to create some sort of symmetry in terms of what we're doing here and why we're here, and that's what we're all about."
Wambach also noted that TV commentators have nothing to do with winning gold medals.
"At the end of the day, none of it matters," Wambach said. "Because what really does matter is the results."
Sundhage said she didn't tell Solo to stop tweeting or to tone it down.
"I don't punish people," Sundhage said. "And I don't know what's right and wrong."
Five years ago, Solo expressed an opinion that made her the recipient of the starkest punishment ever dealt to a U.S. women's national team player. She was essentially kicked off the squad at the 2007 World Cup after she criticized then-coach Greg Ryan for benching her for the semifinals.
She made her way back onto the team to become arguably the best goalkeeper in team history, anchoring the gold-medal run at the 2008 Olympics and winning the golden glove award for top goalie at last year's World Cup in Germany.
Now she's a media superstar, highlighted by her appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" last fall, and she hasn't stopped making waves. Three weeks ago, she had what is believed to be the first positive drug test in the history of the program, receiving a warning over the banned substance Canrenone. She said it resulted from a premenstrual medication prescribed by her doctor.
Solo was also one of several athletes quoted extensively in an ESPN The Magazine story about sex in the athletes village during the Beijing Olympics and has also been promoting her book "A Memoir of Hope," scheduled for release two days after the London Games.
Nevertheless, Sundhage said she's not concerned about Solo's focus.
"Hope is different," Sundhage said. "What I see is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. If you look back, she's been dancing with the stars, she'd been in a lot of media, she's done this and that, and you would think, 'Well, will she ever come back to the game and will this be a distraction?' If you look at the way she played the first two games, I would say no. She's ready. She prepared. She wants to win, and she know what she needs to do."
Well everyoen is entitled to their opinion if you don't like it no one is saying you ahve to listen... but criticism over a 3-0 win is pretty silly
I'm with Hope, Chastain should have been for Team USA. Chastain is old news and should keep her mouth shut. Team USA are adult women who have played in tournaments before they can figure out the adjustments.
Solo is a Twit!
 @whoareyou Just to point out: shes in London at the Olympics while you are sitting behind your computer screen complaining. 'Twit' may not an appropriate term to use with that regard.
 @DarkRenegade I know..I quit playing "futbol" when I was old enough to play "football" around 8 years old. Soccer is like watching paint dry! She is still a twit though!
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 @kybhotbs:Â
This is the first I had heard of this - and I AM outraged.Â
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The Olympics started with a pure ideal, that sports was a great equalizer between all nationsl, and that it was for AMATEURS (def: one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession). Â
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Now, we have paid professional atheletes competing (NBA, WNBA, others) so it is no longer what it once was.Â
 @kybhotbs I am fairly conservative and Solo is a whiny twit! A commentator's job is to commentate! She would hate to play baseball, basketball or football in New York or Philly!
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 @kybhotbs I agree with you, almost wrote the exact same thing below...she is still a whiny little twit!
Hey KOMO...
How is this story any different from this one:
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/US-goalkeeper-Hope-Solo-rails-against-NBCs-Chastain-164156966.html#lf_comment=33094621
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Why can't she say what she wants? Our First Amendment rights should cover us on electronic media. On the other hand....who cares what she says? Why is this such a big story?
 @bagsofdirt Its called a contract. Inside there is a code of ethics that an athlete has to obey while representing the country. First Amendment has limitations once she signed her name to represent.
Wait! Am I reading about Olympic sports or professional tennis?
i find it very questionable that Ms. Solo's doc was not more aware of what drugs/medications a competitive athlete cannot take. that being said, Ms. Solo said it was for PMS - and perhaps her tweet outburst indicates she is a little edgie without it.. :)
Funny how the Greek Olympian female athlete tweeted about the Africans were home food for the Nile mosquitos and got banned from the Olympics, but this trash who got caught for doping and then trashes a sports commentator gets no punishment!Â
 @LoJack There is a difference between trash talking and insulting another other team with regional insults, and lashing back at outside commentary on your sport that you think is totally misinformed and shades other's peoples views of your sport. Also, you clearly are not familiar with the story about her "doping," because it wasn't doping at all and could in no way have effected her Olympic performance.
 @Jolly It is such a joke that the either would be disciplined for their remarks. While the Greek girl's remarks were childish, she still should be allowed to compete. The purpose of the Olympics is to put politics aside. It amazes me that she is dropped for a silly joke, yet we allow the repressive North Koreans in (read the book Escape from Camp 14), we let all of the Arab countries in who repress their women and are a million times more racist than what she said. We let countries and athletes in that refuse to march or participate with other races and nationalities, yet a young Greek says a tasteless joke and she can't compete. Only the Europeans, Aussies and Americans are held to this politically correct standard. The rest of the world can build concentration camps, butcher their citizens with impunity, repress other religions and their women and we turn a blind eye and hand them medals!
 @LocalLady True..still think it is silly and a bit over the top PC. A lot of these athletes are young adults in their 20s, they still are going to make some stupid mistakes. Taking an Olympic dream away should be for something egregious. Saying a tasteless joke that she has apologized for shouldn't rise to that level. One trains for years for this. I hate political correctness!
@whoareyou @jolly:Â
But each nation's own Olympic Committee is who sets the standards. You may find it was simply a "taseless joke", but the Greek Committee found it to be much more.
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It does not matter what you or I think of it, in the end it only matters what their hoime country's committee thinks of it. They are the ones who make the decision. The atheletes all know what is expected of them going into the Games, so they all should bear that in mind every time they open their mouths to speak.
 @LoJack If the story is accurate, this athlete came forward of her own accord to inform the commission of the substance within her prescription. I agree its lopsided on how she was not disciplined appropriately but there is a fine line between a racist comment and what this athlete did.
Well, I should hope not! What is this, second grade where you can't hurt other people's feelings?