Hope Solo regrets USA team van incident, addresses off-field issues
United States women's national team goalkeeper Hope Solo tells ABC News it was a ''horrible choice'' last month when her husband, former Seattle Seahawks player Jerramy Stevens, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in a team van.
Solo, in training camp with the national team at the time, was with Stevens when he was pulled over. She was suspended by U.S. Soccer for 30 days and was reinstated on Saturday.
Solo spoke to ABC in an interview broadcast Wednesday morning on "Good Morning America".
“Well, clearly, I wasn’t thinking,” the 33-year-old told Robin Roberts. “I mean, it was a horrible choice. ... I think I just wasn’t in a good place, emotionally, to even make good decisions. I mean, it’s not an excuse but I just, it was stupid. Should've called a taxi.”
Solo also addressed the January dismissal of domestic violence assault charges against her, stemming from a confrontation with her half-sister and nephew at a party last June.
U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati and U.S. women's national team coach Jill Ellis established a series of steps in the wake of Solo's suspension and required her to make progress toward fulfilling those objectives during her time away from the team.
After a formal review, U.S. Soccer decided to reinstate Solo after her suspension and pave the way for Ellis to name her in a 25-player squad for the trip to Portugal next month for the Algarve Cup, per federation release. USA teammate Abby Wambach welcomed Solo's return to the fold last week.
"Obviously she's an experienced veteran on the team," Wambach told USA TODAY Sports earlier in the week. "Whenever somebody comes back, you have to welcome them with open arms, especially right now when we're in our push to the World Cup. We need our team to be at full strength. Whether it's injury or suspension, we want to take care of our teammates. This would be no different."
FOXSoccer.com's Kyle McCarthy contributed to this report.
