Tearful Hope Solo fumes about U.S. Soccer suspension in new video

Hope Solo
Hope Solo reacted incredulously to her U.S. Soccer suspension. (Fullscreen/TMZ)

Video has emerged of the moments after longtime United States women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo found out U.S. Soccer had suspended her for six months and terminated her contract for calling the Swedish national team “cowards” following a quarterfinal loss at the Rio Olympics.

Solo was being filmed by Fullscreen for an upcoming documentary “Keeping Score,” but a clip was published by TMZ Sports on Tuesday. It shows a furious, distraught and teary-eyed Solo as she told her husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens, about the punitive measures.

“Six months suspension, no pay, terminated contract,” she tells him, walking into a conference room of some sort, as he wraps her in a hug. “Effective immediately.”

“Terminated contract!” Solo says to whoever is behind the camera, jabbing her finger into the table. “Not just a suspension.”

“How can they do both?” Stevens asks, incredulously.

“It’s both,” Solo responds, raising her arms.

“Seventeen [expletive] years, and it’s over!” she shouts in the next snippet.

While in the heat of the moment, Solo’s conclusion about her national team career — which produced two Olympic gold medals, a Women’s World Cup trophy, a World Cup final lost on penalties, and Golden Glove awards at both those tournaments — is probably right. Although the soccer federation hasn’t indicated that she no longer has a future with the national team, it’s widely believed that Solo won’t return. Her national team career, dating back to 2000, is littered with records and incidents alike. The federation suspended her because of the cumulative heft of a series of public outbursts and run-ins with the law. The team will likely move on with other goalkeepers.

What’s more, Solo is 35 and will turn 38 the summer of the next Women’s World Cup in 2019. That’s old even for a goalkeeper, especially one with a history of shoulder injuries.

As such, her emotional reaction was understandable. This was likely the end for Solo in the U.S. jersey, and she knew it.

UPDATE: The New York Times has published a statement from Solo in which she announced that she won’t be returning to her National Women’s Soccer League club, the Seattle Reign, this season. “Coming to terms with the fact that I was fired from the U.S. women’s national team after 17 years of service has been devastating,” she wrote. “After careful consideration, I have decided to end my season with the Seattle Reign, an organization I love playing for. Mentally, I am not there yet.”