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Untold: Hope Solo vs US Soccer (2024)

‘Untold: Hope Solo vs US Soccer’ (2024) or Hope Solo vs Herself?

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by

MJ-A
in

In many ways, Hope Solo is a duplicate of the Tonya Harding story. Both athletes were products of the non-conformist Pacific Northwest, had a non-nurturing home life, were fatherless, and struggled economically. Both were determined not to be defined by their circumstances, but to rise above them and become champions. Of course, the reason you learn their stories is because their wings melted in the sun.

As an episode of the Netflix Untold docuseries, Hope Solo vs US Soccer explains how Hope overcame her upbringing and became the USWNT’s best goalkeeper. But although the title and content try to blame US Soccer for the termination of Hope’s career, the film is very honest in showing how the biggest threat to her legacy was herself.

What we learn about Hope Solo’s playing career

Hope’s father abandoned the family when she was around 7 years old. For stability, she ended up living with teammate Cheryl Hirss’ family through high school. She next saw her father a decade later, when she played in Seattle and recognized her dad as the homeless man watching the game. She decided to play collegiate soccer at the University of Washington (UW) so that she would be near him while he continued to live in the woods around Seattle.

I was astounded to learn that Hope was a high school All American — as a high-scoring forward. It was only after she got to UW that she converted to a goalkeeper, because her coaches said this would give her the best shot at playing for the USWNT. Her shot-stopping ability helped UW win the PAC 10 conference for the first time.

In 2000, Hope got her first call up to a USWNT camp, at age 18.  She made the Olympics roster in 2004, but she didn’t get on the tournament field until WWC 2007 in China, where she was the starter. Unbelievably, her father died before she was going to get on the plane for China, but she still ended up playing in the tournament. However, WWC 2007 ended up not being her big break, but instead created the chasm between her, USSoccer, and her USWNT teammates.

Coach Greg Ryan pulled Hope from the semi-final game for Briana Scurry. Forced to sit on the bench during that bad loss, Hope told the media that she would have made those saves. This crossed the line with her teammates and made her an immediate outcast. Not only was she not allowed to play in the 3rd place game, but she was not even allowed to travel with them.

For the 2008 Olympics, new head coach Pia Sundhage brought Hope back on the team. The USWNT won Olympic gold, they had a good WWC 2011 final, and at WWC 2015 they won gold again under Jill Ellis. But at the 2016 Olympics, Hope again made news after they were eliminated by Pia Sundhage’s defensive-minded Sweden. Hope called the Swedes cowards, and shortly thereafter, US Soccer CEO Dan Flynn flew to Seattle to tell Hope she was terminated from the USWNT.

What we guess about Hope Solo’s team relationships

This review started with facts about Hope Solo’s career, but the film itself starts by emphasizing that almost no USWNT teammate or coach was willing to talk about her. The list of refusals included: Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Julie Foudy, Briana Scurry, Heather O’Reilly, Heather Mitts, Cat Whitehill, Meghan Klingenberg, Jill Ellis, Stephanie Cox, Kate Markgraf, Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, and more. As far as the USWNT, only 99er Michelle Akers (who never played with Hope) and coach Pia Sundhage were willing to participate in the film.

Hope says she was blackballed and betrayed. It seemed interesting that the film had all these images and footage of the players and yet none of them agreed to be interviewed. It seemed that none of them attended her 2022 Hall of Fame party either. These are women who typically travel across the country and the world to support each other. To me, their absence said a lot.

Hope probably alienated a lot of her teammates after she originally organized them to fight for #EqualPay but then filed a separate lawsuit. In the film, she denies that the USWNT lawsuit achieved its goals. Her harangue against the USWNT #EqualPay effort feels like sour grapes that do not reflect well on that part of her legacy.

As well, Hope and her PR agent claim victory perhaps a bit too loudly when they discuss Hope’s Jun-2014 arrest for domestic violence against her half-sister and nephew. The film also includes the damning police cam video of her DUI arrest in Mar-2022. Generally, the film presents Hope in a way that feels like it must be truthful because it is so glaring and uncomplimentary.

In Conclusion

Early in the film, Hope claims that in 2015 she was “getting into the money” around US Soccer, and they must have told everyone not to talk to her. But this claim is never really fleshed out any further than saying US Soccer made a lot of money from the USWNT but never compensated the women adequately. The threat from US Soccer is unconvincing, and the title would have been more correct as “Hope Solo vs herself”.

It also nagged at me that the few who gave extensive interviews were from her high school and college years. And that her USWNT co-workers still hadn’t forgiven her after 2, 8, 10, or 17 years.

Overall, I feel this well-told film presents a balanced view of a talented athlete. It raises our sympathy and/or gives us reason to write her off. Hope Solo is too often a bad girl caught doing bad things.

So am I going to buy her merch now? Maybe so.

8 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 8

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