Former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo on Monday pleaded guilty to impaired driving, nearly four months after she was found unconscious behind the wheel of a North Carolina vehicle. with 2-year-old twins inside.
Solo is fine too charged with minor child abuse and resisting a public official regarding the March 31 incident. Her attorney, Chris Clifton, said those two allegations were dismissed voluntarily, Winston-Salem Magazine reported.
A news release from the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office said a judge gave Solo, 40, of Roaring Gap in Alleghany County, a 24-month suspended sentence and a 30-day term. She was credited 30 days for her time in a rehabilitation facility for patients. The judge also ordered Solo to pay a $2,500 fine and $600 in fees for the cost of the lab tests. She must also be evaluated for substance abuse and complete all recommended treatments.
Roaring Gap is about 60 miles northwest of Winston-Salem.
In a statement released after pleading guilty, Solo said that while she takes pride in her role as a mother and how she and her husband have handled their children during the pandemic, “it has been extremely difficult and I have made a big mistake.”
“Easily the worst mistake of my life,” she said. “I underestimated what alcohol has become such a devastating part of my life. The flip side of making a big mistake like this is that hard lessons are learned quickly. Learning these lessons is hard. difficult and sometimes very painful.”
A police report said Solo was arrested in a shopping mall parking lot in Winston-Salem. According to the arrest warrant, a passerby found Solo unconscious behind the wheel for more than an hour with the car’s engine running and two children in the back seat.
A responder could smell alcohol, and the subpoena said Solo refused a field sobriety test.
Solo was taken to the magistrate’s office, where she refused to take the Breathalyzer test, so police received a search warrant to take a blood sample. Solo has a blood alcohol content of 0.24%, three times the legal limit. Tests also showed Solo had THC in her system, according to the police report.
Solo was fired from the national team after the 2016 Olympics in Brazil after calling the Swedish team “cowards” for taking a defensive stance against gold medal defenders, ending a career His laudable competitive career was also marred by many controversies.
She was suspended for 30 days in early 2015 after she and her husband, Jerramy Stevens, were dragged into a truck owned by US Soccer and Stevens was charged with DUI. She was also benched after publicly questioning coach Greg Ryan’s decision to start Briana Scurry against Brazil in the 2007 World Cup, with many saying that Scurry was a bit of a disdain.
Solo was also involved in a melee with family members in 2014 that led to Solo’s arrest, although the charges in that case were eventually dropped.
Solo has made 202 appearances with the national team, with 153 wins and an international record of 102 matches. She won a World Cup title and two Olympic gold medals with the team.
During the 2015 World Cup, she scored only 3 goals in 7 games with 5 saves.
She was elected to the United States Soccer Hall of Fame in January. The introduction was set for May 21, but the newspaper reported that Solo had requested that the ceremony be postponed until next year.
Solo married Stevens, a former close-in for the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in 2012. The couple’s twins were born on March 4, 2020.
