Volatile goalkeeper Hope Solo caused significant controversy with comments that she made after the U.S. women’s soccer team was defeated by Sweden in the Olympic quarterfinals. Now, midfielder Megan Rapinoe is the latest of Solo’s teammates to distance herself from the remarks.
“Really disappointed, to be honest,” Rapinoe said when asked about Solo’s comments in an guest appearance on NBC Sports’ Olympic coverage Thursday. “That’s not our team. That’s not what this team has always been. That’s not what this team will be in the future.
“It’s frustrating sometimes as an athlete, you’re thrust into the spotlight, and I think this team has always done a really amazing job of understanding we have this incredible platform, let’s do something good with it,” she continued.
“Let’s inspire, let’s be badass, let’s be fierce, let’s be competitive. But we’re gracious and we’re humble, and we play the game a certain way, whether we win or lose. And we’ve been on the winning side quite a bit, and when we find ourselves on the other side, we need to handle that graciously, and unfortunately that wasn’t the case.”
Solo rustled some feathers when she called Sweden as “a bunch of cowards” after the loss last week. Forward Alex Morgan also repudiated Solo’s comments in an interview on Wednesday.
Having multiple teammates come out and publicly denounce her remarks is a bad look for Solo, beyond just the inexcusable nature of what she said. But of course, Solo is no stranger to that after all.
Image Credit: Michael Chow-USA TODAY Sports
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