We live in a time and age where ESPN is now more of a gossip and scandal channel than a sports fanatic’s source of information. We also live in a day and age where players in leagues such as the NBA and NFL get suspended from their team before any investigation is concluded if a crime is committed. On the other side of the spectrum, woman’s sports are never heard of on sports channels. This is because female athletics are seen as a joke. The main reason for the thoughts and feelings that female sports receive is due to reason that females are not placed on the same playing field as men. A prime example of such is on the scandal side of sports. Tom Brady, a superstar figure for the National Football league has been suspended due to all of the “Deflate-Gate” drama, and it is pretty much the only thing being talked about on ESPN day in day out. Could deflating a football seriously be more violation than domestic violence? Why then is Hope Solo, a two-time Olympic gold medalist representing the United States of America on an international platform? She was involved in allegedly assaulting her half sister and her nephew. Solo began to insult officers, as they tried to book her according to records obtained by ESPN. "You're such a b----. You're scared of me because you know that if the handcuffs were off, I'd kick your ass," she supposedly yelled at an officer. Solo was booked with two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault.
U.S. Soccer, who oversees both men’s and woman’s National teams, did not open any type of investigation into Solo’s case. The court has dismissed the case on procedural grounds.
If this was a male athlete, we can all agree that this person would be scrutinized for months on every news station including the latest gossip source, ESPN. Not only that, but their league would place them under suspension and we’d be hearing from coaches and owners in millions of press conferences. This was shown distinctly when not even a year ago, Ray Rice, a professional football player was suspended multiple games for the same act of violence as Solo. Rice still hasn’t played a game since.
This is why women’s sports are an absolute joke. We have them because it would be “unfair” not to. Yes, there are women who are extremely athletic and excel in this field but let us not ignore this double standard.
If we are going to have women’s sports, we need to hold the female professional athletes to the same rectitude as we do their male counterparts. Hope Solo does not deserve to represent this country in an international competition. Soccer Super Girl or not, the facts are there. Our nation should not be lead on a national platform by a convict such as Hope Solo.
