‘I let alcohol get the better of me’: Former soccer star Hope Solo reflects on DWI arrest months after she passed out behind wheel of her car with her two-year-old twins inside and engine running, said she will ‘never live down’ that moment
- Hope Solo, 41, returned to her podcast on August 18 months after her arrest
- The former soccer star was arrested on March 31 after being discovered passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle sitting in a North Carolina Walmart parking lot
- Her 2-year-old twins were in the backseat of the car and the engine was running
- She was convicted and entered herself into rehab for alcoholism
- On her podcast this week, she calls the moment ‘the biggest mistake of my life’
- Solo also recalled the fallout from the incident and her struggles with being away from her husband and children while she sought treatment
Former US soccer star Hope Solo reflected on her DWI arrest months after she passed out behind the wheel of her car with her two-year-old twins inside – calling the moment the ‘biggest mistake of my life.’
‘I let alcohol get the better of me in a decision that I will never live down,’ Solo said during the August 18 episode of her ‘Hope Solo Speaks’ podcast. She went on the call the mistake, ‘a decision that has come as a great cost to me and my family.’
Solo, 41, was arrested on March 31 after being discovered passed out behind the wheel her car in a Winston-Salem, North Carolina Walmart parking lot.
Her two-year-old twins, Lozen and Vittorio, were in the backseat of the car, and the engine was still running.
The ex-USWNT goalkeeper was later convicted and hit with a 30-day prison-sentence – a sentence she did not have to serve because of the month she spent in rehab following the incident.
Solo also postponed her National Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony, originally to take place in May, to 2023.
On her podcast this week, Solo recalled the fallout from the incident, her struggles with being away from her husband and children while she sought treatment.
Solo, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest female goalkeepers in history, lives with former NFL star husband Jerramy Stevens and twins Vittorio Genghis and Lozen Orianna Judith Stevens, in the town of Roaring Gap.
Former US women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested March 31 (right) on alcohol-related charges. She is pictured (left) in 2015 with the gold Adidas glove award
In a August 18 episode of her podcast, Solo reflected on her DWI arrest months after she passed out behind the wheel of her car, calling the moment the ‘biggest mistake of my life’
Following the March incident, the former soccer star decided to postpone her Hall of Fame induction ceremony, writing: ‘I have contacted the Hall of Fame and respectfully requested a postponement of my Hall of Fame induction ceremony to 2023.’
‘I will be voluntarily entering an in-patient alcohol treatment program to address my challenges with alcohol.’
‘At this time, my energies and focus are totally directed to my health, healing and taking care of my family. I want to thank the Hall of Fame for their support and for understanding my decision.’
Solo revealed on her podcast this week that canceling her Hall of Fame induction ceremony and leaving her family behind to enter rehab sparked her first panic attack and left her crying at night.
‘Entering myself into treatment, awaiting the legal system, dealing with international and national headlines, canceling my attendance at the Hall of Fame induction, it seemed embarrassment compounded on top of embarrassment,’ she said on her podcast on August 18.
‘There were many days and nights of crying uncontrollably to having my very first panic attack. The thought of leaving my family behind to fend for themselves was almost unbearable.’
‘Today,’ she said on her podcast, ‘I am grateful for my 30 days away to read, think, pray, mediate and learn.’
Solo continued, ‘There is no shame if we struggle with alcohol or addiction. Thank you to the beautiful men and women who taught me this.’
Solo also talked about turning to alcohol after suffering fatigue and isolation when they had moved away from family and friends Washington State to North Carolina during the pandemic.
‘We both were exhausted, day in and day out,’ she said. ‘Winding down with a drink was nice and it’s what we looked forward to doing and well, the drinking slowly increased. We found that it eased the stresses of our everyday lives and we felt that we had the right to do so. We never drink and drove. We never went in public and we woke up every morning to handle our business. I was foolish to think that I had it under control.’
According to an arrest warrant about the March incident, a passerby noticed Solo passed out behind the steering wheel for more than an hour with the vehicles engine running and the two children in the backseat.
Solo, left, has two twins with former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens. They were in the car with her when she was arrested for DWI in March
Solo’s engine was running when police arrived. She initially refused to get out of her car and later failed a field sobriety test.
A responding officer could smell alcohol, and the warrant said Solo refused a field sobriety test.
Solo was taken to the magistrate’s office, where she refused to take a Breathalyzer test, so police got a search warrant for a blood sample. Solo had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit.
In July, Solo pleaded guilty to DWI and was handed down an active sentence of 30 days and a suspended sentence of 24 months, as well as $2,500 in fines plus a $600 fee to cover the cost of lab tests.
Solo has had previous brushes with the law, including one in 2014 when she was arrested at her home in Washington for allegedly assaulting her nephew and a half-sister. That case was later dismissed after prosecution witnesses declined to testify against her.
Solo, pictured with her husband and one of their children has had multiple brushes with the law, including a 2014 arrest for allegedly assaulting her nephew and a half-sister
In 2014, Solo became a media sensation for all the wrong reasons after she was arrested for assaulting her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew in their Seattle, Washington home
Solo also was unceremoniously exited from the national team in 2016, after she was dismissed during the 2016 Brazil Olympics after calling the Swedish team ‘cowards’ for taking a defensive stance against the defending gold medalists, ending a laudable playing career that was also marred by controversy.
She was suspended for 30 days in early 2015 after she and her husband were pulled over in a US Soccer-owned van and Stevens was charged with DUI.
She was also benched after publicly questioning coach Greg Ryan’s decision to start Briana Scurry against Brazil during the 2007 World Cup, comments many saw as a slight against Scurry.
Solo made 202 appearances with the national team, with 153 wins and an international-record 102 shutouts. She won a World Cup title and two Olympic gold medals with the team.
During the 2015 World Cup championship run, she allowed just three goals in seven games with five shutouts.
Solo gold adidas glove award after the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Final between USA and Japan at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada
Solo is married to former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens. She is pictured kissing him after winning the final football match between USA and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
She was elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in January. The induction ceremony was set for May 21, but the newspaper reported that Solo requested that the ceremony be delayed until next year.
Solo married Stevens, a former tight end for the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in 2012. The couple’s twins, Vittorio Genghis and Lozen Orianna Judith Stevens, were born on March 4, 2020.
Solo, a native of Richland, Washington state, was the goalkeeper for the 2015 World Cup-winning squad as well as the 2007 and 2011 teams.
Widely considered one of the greatest female goalkeeper’s to play the game, she also earned gold medals as the goalie for the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams.
Overall, Solo earned 202 caps with the national team and holds the record of 102 career shutouts.
Source: Read Full Article
