With the recent wave of domestic violence suspensions that have plagued the NFL, many are questioning why US Soccer hasn’t taken a tougher stance on their punishment of star goalkeeper Hope Solo, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting her sister and nephew in June.
US Soccer president, Sunil Gulati issued a statement defending their decision to allow Solo to continue to play while her case is pending.
“From the beginning, we considered the information available and have taken a deliberate and thoughtful approach regarding Hope Solo’s status with the National Team,” Gulati said. “Based on that information, U.S. Soccer stands by our decision to allow her to participate with the team as the legal process unfolds. If new information becomes available we will carefully consider it.”
Nike also issued a statement in support of Solo.
“We are aware of the allegations and that Hope Solo has pled ‘not guilty’ to the charges. Hope remains a Nike athlete and we will continue to monitor the situation,” the statement said.
Now the question is, are we seeing a double standard? Should Solo face the same no-tolerance penalties that we’ve seen in the NFL and college football? Should domestic violence be treated the same across the board? Would Nike and US Soccer take the same approach if she was a man?
Let me be clear, when it comes to the amount of force, a man hitting a woman and a woman hitting a man are not the same thing, but the acts themselves are equally wrong and should be punishable the same way. If you’re going to be an advocate for strict domestic violence policy, it should be equal across the board.