“Honestly, legacies are something people realize over time. I can’t tell you what people are going to say what my legacy is. I know what I stood for,” Solo told the Associated Press. “I know I never changed who I am: that I continued to fight for my teammates for better treatment, for better competition. I held everybody to higher standards and I think it made some people uncomfortable.”
Solo currently is suspended from the national team after calling the Sweden Olympic team “cowards” after the Nordic side topped the Americans in a quarterfinal. Her six-month suspension is set to expire in February, though her contract also was terminated, leaving her future up in the air.
“Let’s be honest: It’s not my decision if I return to the national team,” Solo said. “I find it an honor and a privilege to represent our country at the highest level in a sport that I love, in a position that I love. And I would do almost anything to play at that level once again. I say almost, because at this point in time I believe our fight for equality is much bigger than being on the national team again.”
Solo, along with Becky Sauerbrunn, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging wage discrimination from U.S. Soccer. While Solo told the AP that her suspension could be put down to the wage discrimination suit, U.S. Soccer has maintained that Solo was suspended for bad conduct over time, with the “cowards” quote being the last straw.
“As we have stated before, Hope was suspended for her cumulative actions over the course of time that reflected negatively on the U.S. women’s national team and U.S. Soccer,” a U.S. Soccer statement to the AP read. “Any indication that the suspension was only due to her comment after the Olympics, or because of current CBA negotiations, is completely inaccurate. We had numerous conversations with her in the past about her behavior and it was clear that any additional missteps could result in an additional suspension.”
