Hope Solo has been one of the standout Olympians for years now, both for her performances at the soccer goal and for her outspoken ways. Her new book, “SOLO: A Memoir Of Hope” is garnering some attention now, however, because of an alleged incident that occurred during one of those outspoken moments.
In the book, Solo alleges that her former coach, Greg Ryan, shoved her during an argument at the 2007 World Cup. Solo claims the fight came about after Ryan benched her and brought in Breanna Scurry for their match against Brazil, which USA lost. After the game, she couldn’t keep silent about what she felt was a bad decision on Ryan’s part.
“It was the wrong decision, and I think anyone who knows anything about the game of soccer knows that,” she said at the time.
The book hit stands on Tuesday, and Coach Ryan has issued a statement about the allegations:
“This allegation is completely false. I did not shove or push Hope as I’ve been accused in her book. I would have been terminated immediately by US Soccer had this allegation been true. I have openly discussed the contents of the meeting and this is the first time that this accusation has been brought to light.”
Solo is also offering up some juicy tidbits about the London games in the form of diary excerpts, which are included with the E-book version of her memoir. In the diary, she says U.S. coach Pia Sundhage threatened to keep her from the London games this year if the book came out prior to the start of the Olympics.