The start of the Women’s World Cup raises new questions about the handling of Hope Solo’s case. Solo is the goalie for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, and she has recently been making the rounds on national media in order to redeem herself after facing domestic violence charges.
While her clubs, Seattle Reign FC and U.S. Soccer, have promised to investigate the charges, she has not yet been suspended as the Women’s World Cup, which began Saturday, gets underway.
Even though athletes often have their violence overlooked, their actions are a reflection on the sport and need to be punished accordingly with suspensions. The amount of time that U.S. Soccer and Seattle Reign FC have taken for this investigation is clearly an attempt to just hope that this story dies down.
The WNBA was much more decisive and proactive about punishing its athletes, and it suspended both Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson for seven games after a physical altercation at their home.
This seems more appropriate than punishments doled out by the NFL, despite Roger Goodell’s attempts to seem more active in combatting domestic violence within the NFL.
Ray Rice’s punishment was changed by public outcry from a two-game suspension to an indefinite one, and this spurred a change in the NFL’s rules.
Adrian Peterson, who hit his son with a tree branch, was suspended indefinitely by the NFL in order to go through treatment, which is an example of one of the harsher punishments that Goodell has tried to put into place.
The rules about suspensions for domestic violence or sexual assault call for a six-game suspension for the first offense, but the suspension can be longer since Goodell is in charge of enforcing it.
The sports world is waking up to the necessity of harsher punishments for athletes. But Solo should not be the exception. Investigations need to be more transparent and consequences need to be put in place, even with no legal conviction. Instead of just responding to public outcry, they need to be more proactive.
Athletes are like any other celebrities, and of course they have privilege when it comes to legal prosecution, whether that means drawn-out trials or watered-down sentences. That doesn’t mean that sports can’t punish their athletes.
There needs to be more accountability about domestic violence in sports across the board. Essentially, the athletes are employees, and their actions reflect on the sport as a whole. Their talent shouldn’t make them any different from anyone else when it comes to accountability.
Nicole Dan is a UF political science sophomore. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
