Former U.S. women's national team star goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested in a parking lot in North Carolina on DWI and child abuse charges for alleged impaired driving while she was with her two children, officials announced on Friday, April 1.
Police said that Solo was found passed out behind the wheel of her vehicle with her 2-year-old twins inside the car. NBC News reported that Winston-Salem police officers apprehended the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who also goes by her married name Stevens, on Thursday, March 31, in a Walmart parking lot.
Authorities said that apart from suspicion of impaired driving, they also booked Solo for resisting arrest and misdemeanor child abuse. The police report indicated that Solo has been released from jail and has a court date set on June 28.
Solo found passed out behind the steering wheel
According to the arrest warrant issued to Solo, a passerby noticed the former World Cup champion passed out behind the steering wheel for more than an hour with the car's engine running and her two kids in the backseat.
The officer who responded could smell alcohol from Solo, and the warrant said that she refused a field sobriety test. As a result of her refusal, Solo's blood was drawn instead to check her alcohol level. Police issued a statement, saying that no further information would be released regarding Solo's arrest based on the impending prosecution.
According to a Yahoo! report, Solo posted a statement from attorney Rich Nichols on her own verified Instagram account with the Texas-based lawyer suggesting there are mitigating circumstances in the soccer star's arrest. Nichols said that Solo couldn't speak about this situation on the advice of counsel, but she wanted everyone to know that her kids are her life.
Nichols added that Solo was released immediately and is now at home with her family. Nichols also emphasized that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest and that Solo looks forward to having an opportunity to defend herself against these charges.
Solo is one of Team USA's most decorated soccer players, leading the United States to Olympic gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Games and the Women's World Cup in 2015.
Solo always mired in controversy
Solo's off-the-pitch behavior, however, has drawn nearly as much attention as the goalkeeper's outstanding play between the posts. Solo was Team USA's starting goalie for the 2007 World Cup but was controversially benched in the semifinal match against Brazil, with veteran Briana Scurry getting the start in her place.
According to ESPN, Solo went ballistic on then-coach Greg Ryan, leading to her banishment from the team before USA's third-place game. Solo was then suspended for 30 days in early 2015 after she and her husband Jerramy Stevens were pulled over in a U.S. Soccer-owned van.
Stevens was charged with a DUI back then. Solo was dismissed from Team USA following the 2016 Rio Olympics after she called members of the Swedish team cowards for taking a defensive mindset during their match.
