The Hypocrisy of Public Opinion:Hope Solo by @niksolfy

By now we are all familiar with the stories Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyer and Ray McDonald. A name you probably are familiar with, but to a limited extent is Hope Solo.  Like the aforementioned, Solo draws many parallels such as being an athlete ( U.S. national women’s soccer team), having  stellar career performances , being a fan favorite and ( oh yeah…) she has two misdemeanor domestic abuse charges filed against her. The only difference between Solo and the list of NFL players that seemingly make the news every night is that Solo is a woman and she managed to allegedly abuse her teenage nephew and sister in one incident.

 The weekend preceding June 23, 2014, a male caller placed a call to 911 stating a woman was “ hitting people” [via USA Today]. According to the official complaint, upon arrival, the two –time Olympic gold medalist soccer goalkeeper was seemingly intoxicated and there were “visible injuries” to the sister and nephew. The cause of the alleged incident is rumored to be an unauthorized party in the aggressor’s home.  The now- 33 year old Washington native  has entered a plea of not guilty and seemingly can continue to play the game she loves while she waits on the judicial system to do its job.

Unlike Solo’s male counterparts, there isn’t the court of public opinion that has tried and convicted her. Despite the allegations, her soccer team  and the entire national soccer organization  has apparently taken the Roger Goodell approach and turned a complete blind eye to the incident. She was allowed to play in Thursday’s night game against Mexico where her shut out record has been extended to 73. There isn’t any news stations searching for previous victims to weigh in on her actions ( as KHOU did with Peterson).  The only ‘noise’ she has heard is the cheering of fans supporting her. I can only think of one media vet that has expressed concerns with the double standard.

I am not in no way justifying what any of these men allegedly did nor am I condemning them. My opinion will remain absent from conversation until the justice system renders its verdict. However I will submit my opinion on the subject of traditional media sensationalism. Why are the faces of domestic abuse now NFL players? Abuse has been a problem prior to the inception of the NFL. My mother has told me stories of her childhood when men would violently beat their wives in public and face no repercussions.Before there was Rice et al, there was Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson. 

May I be transparent with you all for a second?  Domestic Violence hits home with me. I lost a friend and mentor during undergraduate to it. When I read cases involving DV and/or DA, I do not see gender. I see pain. I feel it. My pain is not swayed by the gender of the aggressor nor is it solidified by the victim’s gender.  I have the same contempt for a woman as I do for a man who feels causing injury is the solution.  Why do we as a society feel it is okay for women to behave in such a way? The victims do not care about their aggressors’ gender, they care about justice. The public’s outcry is  inherently disproportionate . Solo has allegedly hurt a woman and an adolescent, however her behavior ( harrowing by all recent accounts of public opinion) has been excused. And that is where the tragedy of hypocrisy will lie… on the symmetry of gender