SALON

Monday, Jul 30, 2012 7:02 PM UTC

Olympic goalie Solo doesn’t back down from tweets

By

Topics: From the Wires

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — U.S. women’s soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo didn’t back down Monday from her Twitter outburst against NBC analyst Brandi Chastain, saying the tweets were her way of expressing her opinion about the quality of television announcers.

Solo addressed the matter briefly on her 31st birthday during the team’s tour of historic Old Trafford stadium, where the Americans will play North Korea on Tuesday. She didn’t apologize or express regret, and she answered only one question about the matter, declining to address, among other things, whether a social media rant in the middle of the Olympics was the proper time and means to convey her feelings about broadcasters.

“It’s not about what made me unhappy,” Solo said. “It’s not about one game. I have my beliefs that the best commentators and the best analysts should be analyzing come Olympics, come World Cups, and it’s only my opinion. You can take it or leave it, to be honest, so it’s my opinion, and I think analysts and commentators should bring energy and excitement and passion for the game, and a lot of knowledge, and I think it’s important to help build the game, and I don’t think Brandi has that.

“It’s just my opinion, and nothing else really matters, to be honest. What matters is tomorrow’s game against North Korea, playing at Old Trafford. The team’s excited. It’s my birthday. I don’t really care to answer any other questions about Brandi.”

She indeed declined to answer follow-up questions about the matter, including whether she has spoken to Chastain.

Solo railed against Chastain’s commentary following the Americans’ 3-0 win over Colombia on Saturday, upset over Chastain’s criticisms of the team’s defensive play. She tweeted that Chastain should “lay off commentating about defending” and goalkeeping “until you get more educated” and “the game has changed from a decade ago.”

The outburst led to a meeting with Solo, coach Pia Sundhage and the team captains on Sunday, with the coach expressing concern about how the tweets reflected on the team’s image and the need to cut out distractions and focus on the next game. The coach did not tell Solo to stop tweeting.

Solo has never been shy about expressing opinions. Her criticism of then-coach Greg Ryan got her kicked off the 2007 World Cup team. She’s also been promoting a memoir that is scheduled for release two days after the Olympics.

Chastain, one of the most accomplished players in U.S. team history, has refused to be drawn into the dispute, saying Monday that she’s doing her job as an “honest and objective journalist at the Olympics.”

The Solo-Chastain saga has been a diversion from the buildup to a historic match. About 35,000 fans are expected Tuesday, which would be a record for a women’s game at the home of Manchester United. The stadium hasn’t hosted a women’s match since 1989.

“You can see why they talk of all the magic inside. It’s pretty amazing,” midfielder Megan Rapinoe said after the players spent about 20 minutes taking photos at midfield. “Walking into the changing rooms and seeing all the trophies and legends, it’s pretty cool.”

The Americans won their first two games and have already clinched a berth in the next round, but they’ll want a victory to sustain momentum and get a better draw in the quarterfinals.

Midfielder Shannon Boxx, who injured her right hamstring in the opening win over France, will miss her second consecutive game.

___

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

More Joseph White.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations