The former goalkeeper of the United States Women’s National Soccer team has been arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, and misdemeanor child abuse.
Hope Solo, 40, was arrested on Thursday, March 21, in a Walmart parking lot with two young children in the car, according to TMZ. Authorities say it was her children in the car (Hope has two-year-old twins with former NFL player Jerramy Stevens).
Solo’s lawyer Rich Nichols released a statement about the situation on Solo’s official Twitter account.
“On the advice of counsel, Hope can’t speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges.”
Solo is a two-time Olympic medalist and also a World Cup winner. She was transferred to Forsyth County jail in North Carolina for processing. Solo has been in trouble with the law before.
She’s previously been charged with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with her half-sister and teenage nephew in 2014. The charges were eventually dropped four years later after a protracted appeals process.
Solo played for the national team from 2000 to 2016. The team terminated her after it was eliminated by Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Olympics in Rio, according to The New York Times. Solo called the Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” for not playing more aggressively.
She’s one of the most recognizable female sports stars in the world. In 2009, she was the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the year.