While the excitement surrounding the Olympics has slowly faded, the spotlight has remained on Hope Solo. The goalkeeper recently made headlines by calling her opponents "cowards" following a loss that knocked the United States out of the tournament. Fans and sports journalists everywhere considered the comments to be disrespectful, but nobody could have predicted how the rest of the story would unfold.

After returning home to Seattle, national team head coach Jill Ellis informed the longtime keeper that her contract would be terminated immediately due to the unprofessional nature of her comments. While the news came as a shock, there are those who believe that Solo has finally gotten what she deserves. With a domestic violence case from 2014 still pending, and a drunk driving incident involving her husband directly before the 2015 World Cup, Solo is no stranger to generating negative publicity.

Despite these hard to ignore facts, most were left confused and angry by the odd timing of the contract termination. As more information becomes available, people are beginning to suspect that U.S. Soccer is up to no good. Fans and certain media outlets are now suggesting that Solo was used by U.S. Soccer, arguing that the federation could have suspended her earlier, but believed they would need her to win the World Cup and an Olympic medal.

Many also acknowledged that a male athlete would never be fired for comments made directly after a major loss. In fact, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, recently made news after throwing a reporter's microphone into a lake after losing to Iceland. He later called the team "small', but rather than facing punishment or being vilified, the media portrayed his behavior as competitive and passionate.

Furthermore, in recent months, the United States Women's National Team and U.S. Soccer have been feuding publicly regarding wage and gender discrimination. As one of the most outspoken members of the national team, Solo has been at the forefront of the Equal Pay for Equal Play campaign. With her absence, fans were quick to point out that it will now be much easier for the federation to deny equal pay requests.

Megan Rapinoe recently agreed that Solo being fired is starting to look more like a ploy by U.S. Soccer to stop equal pay, and less like a legitimate punishment for her actions. Rapinoe, a USWNT and Seattle Reign teammate of Solo's, stated that "there's probably some legal strategy going on with it all" in a recent interview.

Solo herself also commented on this perspective for the first time, saying that the United States Soccer Federation is "going to use my comments as an excuse to get rid of me forever so that they don't have to deal with such a strong voice and opposition to field conditions and playing conditions and pay."

Although I've been keeping a close eye on media coverage, I wanted to see how my own audience felt about U.S. Soccer's decision to fire one of the best goalkeepers in history. After running the poll pictured below on Twitter, and asking for opinions on my sports blog, most people seemed to agree that firing Solo was too harsh. A second poll also showed that most individuals feel that the equal pay campaign is directly related to the timing of Solo's contract termination.

In a statement issued two weeks ago, Solo's lawyers said that an appeal will be filed in an attempt to prove that U.S. Soccer's punishment is unjust. It was also revealed that Solo will be putting her NWSL career with the Seattle Reign on hold until further notice. Although Seattle's season has been rocky so far, the team still has time to improve before it's too late. With playoff games right around the corner, the statement below was posted by Solo soon after the news of her firing became public.

While I admit to having mixed feelings about Solo, it is difficult to not feel empathetic toward someone who has suddenly lost a job after 17 years of service. As this case continues to evolve, it is important to remember that Hope Solo is a human being and should not be harassed on social media platforms. With that being said, I invite you to do your own research and to engage in respectful conversations.

So are you siding with Solo? Do you think U.S. Soccer's punishment is fair? Or do you fall somewhere in between? Comment below with your take on this developing story!