The National Soccer Hall of Fame class for 2021 was announced Wednesday June 9th, and Hope Solo was not included, having missed out by two votes. Solo, a record-breaking goalkeeper, had been a fixture of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team from 2000 to 2016, and was regarded as an Icon of the sport for most of her career. The shocking exclusion of the highly decorated U.S. goalkeeper is undoubtedly the biggest hall of fame snub of a candidate whose numbers suggest should have been a shoe-in. It is now the second year the two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and 2015 World Cup Champion has been denied entry into the hall of fame.
Hope Solo played college soccer at the University of Washington from 1999 to 2002. While goalkeeper for the Huskies, Solo was the top goalkeeper in the Pac-10 all four seasons. She earned All-Pac-10 honors four times, and was named NSCAA All-American in her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in her sophomore season becoming the first player in Huskies soccer history to win the award, and the first goalkeeper to ever win the award. In her senior season, Solo was the only goalkeeper nominated for the Hermann Trophy, which is given to the best soccer player in the country. She finished her collegiate career setting Washington Huskies records for most shutouts (18), saves (325), and goals against average (1.02).
Hope Solo played for a variety of club teams throughout her career. She was drafted as the 4th overall pick in 2003 by the Philadelphia Charge of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). Her time with the Charge was short-lived as the WUSA folded at the conclusion of the 2003 season. Solo then spent the next two years playing in Sweden and France. She returned to playing in the United States ahead of the 2009 season, playing for St. Louis Athletica in the newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). She recorded 8 shutouts in 2009 and was named WPS Player of the year, and became the first goalkeeper to win the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year, which is the highest award given to a U.S. soccer player. The Athletica folded in May 2010, causing Solo to switch teams. She signed with the Atlanta Beat to finish out the 2010 season. Solo finished the season with 104 saves, 6 shutouts, and 6 wins. She played her 2011 season with Magicjack before that team folded on October 25th. She started the 2012 season with the Seattle Sounders Women, but the WPS folded mid-season. In 2013, Solo signed with the Seattle Reign FC in the newly formed National Women’s Soccer League. She stayed with the team until 2016 when she was forced into retirement following controversial comments made during the 2016 Olympics.
Hope Solo’s most crowning achievements have come as a member of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team. As goalkeeper, Solo was a critical piece in the Olympic Gold Medal teams in 2008 and 2012. She also played a big role in the U.S. emerging victorious in the 2015 World Cup in Canada. It was the third overall World Cup title for the U.S. and the first since 1999. Hope Solo finished her career in 2016 following a disappointing loss to Sweden in the Olympics quarter-finals. She holds the U.S. records in goalkeeper appearances (202), starts (190), wins (153), shutouts (102), wins in a single season (26), consecutive minutes played (1,256), and longest undefeated streak (55 games).
There are some reasons why certain people may think Hope Solo doesn’t belong in the Soccer Hall of Fame, but none of them are related to her career stats. The most glaring issue for some people is the way her career came to a crashing end as a result of her controversial and insulting “cowards” comment directed towards swedish players and coaches following the U.S. loss to Sweden in the 2016 Olympics. The justification here is that her lack of sportsmanship should be held against her and the best way to do that is to keep her out of the hall of fame. While I don’t disagree with Solo being punished for bad behaviour, keeping her out of the hall of fame is a step too far considering she had received a six month suspension from soccer, and was effectively booted out of the game. It’s not a reasonable excuse. Other people are concerned by her polarizing comments made about her former coach Jill Ellis, the U.S. Soccer Federation, and other former teammates. While it is in poor taste for her to continue this war of words, Solo is entitled to freely express herself under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This attitude is typical when there’s a falling-out between coaches and players. She isn’t the first player to behave this way and she won’t be the last. Keeping someone out of the hall of fame because you hate their opinion is, not only dumb, but politicking at its very finest. Unfortunately, this politicking happens in other sports too. Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling is a prime example. Sports halls of fame voting should be based on performance alone. They need to decide who the best players are, and put those players in the hall of fame. Based on numbers alone, there is no good reason why Hope Solo doesn’t belong in the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
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