Hope Solo suspended for 6 months!!

For 17 years, I dedicated my life to the U.S. Women’s National Team and did the job of a pro athlete the only way I knew how — with passion, tenacity, an unrelenting commitment to be the best goalkeeper in the world, not just for my country, but to elevate the sport for the next generation of female athletes. In those commitments, I have never wavered. And with so much more to give, I am saddened by the federation’s decision to terminate my contract.

"I could not be the player I am without being the person I am, even when I haven’t made the best choices or said the right things. My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the players and the women’s game and I will continue to pursue these causes with the same unrelenting passion with which I play the game."

Call my lawyer wrote:

Too bad for her publicist, but she should still be able to leverage this well.

Rich Nichols, the executive director of the players’ union, called the sanctions by U.S. Soccer “excessive, unprecedented, disproportionate and a violation of Ms. Solo’s First Amendment rights,” in a statement to Sports Illustrated. He vowed to appeal the punishment.

“We also question whether this action would have ever been taken against a male player or coach, who, in the heated moments after a frustrating defeat questioned the tactics of the opposing team,” Nichols said in the statement.

Solo was among five members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April, a bid that sought wage equality with their male colleagues. The EEOC has yet to announce a decision in the case.

The complaint came in amidst a legal challenge by U.S. Soccer after a dispute as to when the agreement between the federation and the players expires. The federation court ruled in June that the contract does not expire until year’s end, a decision that prevented players on the women’s national team from striking ahead of the Summer Olympics.

Excessive? yeah, but so is she wrote:

Call my lawyer wrote:

Too bad for her publicist, but she should still be able to leverage this well.

Her lawyer doesn't seem to understand that organizations have the right to restrict speech of their members.

Rich Nichols, the executive director of the players’ union, called the sanctions by U.S. Soccer “excessive, unprecedented, disproportionate and a violation of Ms. Solo’s First Amendment rights,” in a statement to Sports Illustrated. He vowed to appeal the punishment.

“We also question whether this action would have ever been taken against a male player or coach, who, in the heated moments after a frustrating defeat questioned the tactics of the opposing team,” Nichols said in the statement.

Solo was among five members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April, a bid that sought wage equality with their male colleagues. The EEOC has yet to announce a decision in the case.

The complaint came in amidst a legal challenge by U.S. Soccer after a dispute as to when the agreement between the federation and the players expires. The federation court ruled in June that the contract does not expire until year’s end, a decision that prevented players on the women’s national team from striking ahead of the Summer Olympics.