Netflix’s ‘Untold’ Puts Hope Solo Back in the Spotlight – But Why Did She Leave It in the First Place?

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Netflix just dropped Untold: Hope Solo vs. US Soccerand raises a lot of questions about the past of the football goalkeeper.

If you’re unfamiliar with Hope, the 43-year-old was a legendary goalkeeper for the U.S. Soccer Team, won two Olympic gold medals, and played for the U.S. Women’s National Team from 2000-2016.

But Hope had a few scandals during her time in the spotlight and was fired from the group in 2016. So what were the incidents and what is she doing now? Here’s what it’s all about.

What was the Hope Solo scandal about?

There are a few. In 2007, Hope made headlines when she was benched in favor of teammate Brianna Scurry in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup. Team USA lost the match to Brazil 4-0, and Hope was very outspoken about her feelings about it.

According to ESPN, she told a reporter that playing Brianna “was a bad decision. And I think anyone who knows anything about the game knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind that I would have made those saves. And the fact is, it’s not 2004 anymore.” Hope claims she was not allowed to play in the third-place game because of those comments, according to her 2013 diary.

“We went forward with 20 players who stood by each other, who fought for each other,” coach Greg Ryan announced 24 hours before the third-place match. “And when the going got tough — and the Brazil game was tough — they stood strong. Now it’s the 20 who stuck together who are ready to go out and compete against Norway.”

Hope also made headlines after she commented on the Swedish national team, saying they played like a “bunch of cowards” after the U.S. was eliminated from the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to Los Angeles Times‘ Kevin Baxter. Hope also said that “the better team didn’t win,” according to Baxter. After that, Hope was suspended for six months and her contract was terminated, according to The Tribune Report.

Push in UnspeakableHope believes the latest suspension came about because she wanted equal pay for male and female American soccer stars. (In 2016, Hope and four other players — Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Rebecca Sauerbrunn — filed an equal employment opportunity grievance alleging workplace discrimination, noting that the women’s soccer team was not paid or treated as well as the men’s team, despite having significantly better records.)

“In 2015, I knew I had found out something I shouldn’t have found out,” she said in her documentary. “But at that point, I had no idea I had made an enemy. A year later, I was fired.”

At the time, US Soccer said it had terminated her contract due to “conduct contrary to the organization’s policies” following her comments about Sweden.

“Based on the prior incidents involving Hope, as well as the private conversations we have had requiring her to conduct herself in a manner befitting a member of the U.S. National Team, U.S. Soccer has determined that this is the appropriate disciplinary action,” U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said in a statement at the time, according to New York Times.

What was Hope Solo accused of?

In 2014, she was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic violence, according to news reports. Police said she was aggressive when she was arrested. “You’re such a b*tch. You’re scared of me because you know if you took the handcuffs off I’d kick your ass,” she said at the time, according to her arrest report. The charges were dropped in 2018.

In 2022, Hope was arrested in North Carolina and charged with misdemeanor child abuse, resisting arrest and driving under the influence, according to CNN. She was arrested in a parking lot while in a car with her two children. She pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, and the other two charges were dismissed, according to ESPN. She received a 24-month suspended sentence and an active sentence of 30 days. (She was given credit for time served in an inpatient rehabilitation facility.) She was also ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and a $600 fee for lab costs, according to ESPN.

In a statement released after pleading guilty, Hope said she made a “huge mistake.”

“It was by far the worst mistake of my life,” she said. “I underestimated how destructive alcohol had become in my life. The good thing about making such a big mistake is that the hard lessons are learned quickly. Learning those lessons was hard and at times very painful.”

Has Hope Solo ever apologized?

Yes, Hope apologized after her domestic violence arrest. “I would like to apologize to my fans, teammates, coaches, marketing partners, and the entire US Soccer and Seattle Reign FC community for my involvement in a very unfortunate incident this past weekend,” she said on Facebook in 2014.

She added: “Due to pending legal matters, I am unable to comment further at this time. However, I am confident in the legal process and believe my name will be cleared.”

She later apologized to the Sweden captain after he called her team “cowards,” according to ESPN. In 2007, she released a statement regarding her comments about Brianna, saying she was “truly sorry.”

Where is Hope Solo now?

In 2023, Hope was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame, but she postponed that honor after her arrest in 2022.

In 2022, Hope and her family moved from Washington, D.C. to a farm in North Carolina, as she announced in a podcast episode from that year, ParadeIn the documentary, she added that she lives in Asheville, North Carolina, to be spiritually closer to her father, who lived in the woods for part of her childhood.

“My father loved the peace and quiet of his tent in the woods,” she said. “And after everything that had happened, I knew I needed a fresh start. And here I feel closer to him than ever…and strong.”

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