Still flying Solo
A few people have found it curious that Hope "T.O'' Solo has gotten largely a free pass for stabbing teammate Briana Scurry in the back while complaining about being replaced as starting goalie in yesterday's World Cup spanking. Like ESPN.com's Jemele Hill and CBS Sports' Mike Freeman. Yes, bonehead move by coach Greg Ryan. But a completely inexcusable response by Solo -- or so it seemed, although it clearly isn't unanimous.
Now Solo has made a public comment on her MySpace site. One might term it an apology ... except that it wasn't, unless she's saying she's sorry some of these fools misunderstood her and got mad at her. Solo says this about her pretty unmistakable criticism of her far-more accomplished teammate:
"Things were taken out of context, or analyzed differently from my true meaning of my own words.''
Gotta give her credit. It takes guts to play the out-of-context card when you've spoken live on camera and into a microphone, and the video, questions and answers included, are played in full and uncut. And truth be told, we should have better analyzed the true meaning of her own words, namely: "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves ... You have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past."
The great thing is, this is going to get her even more off the hook than she was. Certainly readers on her MySpace page had already forgiven her, with some lovely cheap shots at Scurry thrown in as a bonus, as if it's somehow her fault that the coach made such a terrible choice. But you know those who were skeptical about climbing all over her the way they did the likes of Terrell Owens, Kobe Bryant and (to go back three years to another international sports embarrassment) Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, have even more reason to not only let her slide, but to admire her competitiveness and candor.
And yeah, as Hill pointed out, it's likely due in no small part to Solo being cute and blonde. Good for her. You know, one woman's competitiveness and candor is another man's selfishness and bad attitude. One's a plain-speaking hero, another's a locker-room cancer. Ah, sports, the great leveler of society's playing fields.
Comments
ok really. For one thing we don'yt know that Hope has gotten of free. We have not been informed of the penaltys she may receave yet. Second I think she could have easly stop at least two of those shots. Do I think Bri suck, hell no she is amazing . But when you tell someone the night before the game o by the way you are playing tommarrow and she hasn't started in quit a long time she is not going to be as ready as someone who has. I really don't think she meant to hurt or put down Bri at all. when your sitting the bench all you can think about is I woul;d have done that diffrently. We will not no if her presence on the field would have made a diffrence But I truley think it would have helped a lot. I messed with thier minds. The blame for all of this truely lies with the coach.
Posted by: erin | September 28, 2007 4:43 PM
Now the piling on begins, and the spin-doctoring against Solo. Neither Solo nor Scurry deserved to be put in the position they were. You have a coach who has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he 1) is way out of his depths at the World Cup, 2) can't make a decision in the heat of the moment, and so tries to overcompensate by making a hair-brained change of personnel/tactics that was widely criticized BEFORE the match was played, and 3) is still not man enough to admit that he has single-handedly taken the best team in the world and trashed it on its biggest stage, and 4) throws his own players under the bus for timing/continuity/rust-based mistakes that are the direct result of HIS (in)decisions. Further, the PR hack for the USWNT could have avoided this entirely by simply letting a deservedly angry Solo board the bus, instead of using the heavy-handed approach (in China, ironically) of trying to silence the player and press, and thereby goading Solo further. Research it, hack, rather than be the apologist mouthpiece for your pets.
Posted by: Martin | September 28, 2007 6:01 PM
Clearly you know NOTHING about Hope Solo. She is an incredible person and an incredible player. Entitlement and Hope Solo do not go in the same sentence. What more, she is the better keeper and deserved to play. Briana is no doubt one of the best keepers in history but today solo is better. Ryan's move was criticized by every soccer expert from here to Sao Paulo. Your reference to the people supporting her solely on the fact that she is blond and pretty is pure ignorance border lining racist. Comparing her to Terrell Owens is such a stretch that it blows all your credibility. O and by the way Scurry said almost the same thing Hope did when she was out for an injury in 2000. http://www.usateamhandball.org/11723_22487.htm
Posted by: Meredith | September 28, 2007 6:09 PM
Preach on, Dave, you nailed it on all counts.
Soccer may be a peripheral sport of zero interest to the overwhelming bulk of our country (one I cannot stand), but this episode stands as another classic example of a sports culture (and our entire culture at large) that places a premium on 'me' and then likes to slither out of things rather than accept accountability for what they actually said - heat of the moment or not. What athlete at a high level isn't a competitor? The self-righteous angry competitor excuse lacks some heft and the people defending her comments are equally pathetic, as if she's some counterculture revolutionary preaching to 'the man.' Please.
Blast the coach to his face in the office privately and keep it in the locker room. The press will hang the coach for his decision without having to go there...but give a character-lacking person enough rope and they'll hang themselves every time. Selfish, narcissistic, spoiled and without a trace of accountability - in other words a modern American sports hero. She'll probably get all kinds of endorsements now. "You go, girl!"
Posted by: DD | September 28, 2007 7:24 PM