Hope Solo: Leaves Women’s World Cup As Winner Amid Controversy [Report]

Hope Solo’s personal life has been riddled with controversy, but that hasn’t affected her game play. She left the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada as a winner on Sunday night.

Solo didn’t have much to say about her win, but she was apparently happy. The World Cup ended with Solo winning the Golden Gloves award for top goalkeeper of the tournament. It’s the second straight time that Solo has been awarded as top goalkeeper.

Hope exclaimed her excitement in a short and sweet sentence. She responded, “We did it. Awesome,” as she headed through the mixed zone after the United States beat Japan 5-2 in the Women’s World Cup title.

She did have more to say in her recent interview with FIFA.com. Solo told the official governing body of soccer how she feels about her big win.

“It’s much sweeter this time around! It feels so good. It was incredible. This is purely the peak of my career. It’s been a perfect tournament in many respects: lifting the trophy, earning my Golden Glove award and Carli’s Golden Ball award. It’s great teamwork that got us to this point.”

Hope Solo entered the World Cup surrounded in controversy. Fans questioned whether Hope should be on the American team, despite her controversial past. Some noted that there’s a double standard when it comes to controversial female athletes. The National Football League immediately suspended Ray Rice following a video that showed him assaulting his wife in an elevator.

Hope recently received a one-month suspension from the team for her husband’s DUI arrest for driving a team van back in January of this year. Both Hope and her husband, Jerramy Stevens, were in the team van at the time of the incident. Back in 2012, her husband was arrested for an alleged assault, which left Hope badly hurt. The charges were dropped, since there was not enough evidence to charge Jerramy.

There were also constant reports about Solo’s arrest following a June, 2014, altercation at her half-sister’s home. She was arrested with two misdemeanor counts of assault, one against her sister and the other against her nephew. According to Solo, she was defending herself against her 6’9? nephew. Those charges against Solo were dropped, since there was a lack of cooperation from both alleged victims. Even though Solo was lucky in this case, she’s still known for her controversial lifestyle rather than her soccer skills.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper was also rocked by a nude photo scandal last summer. Hope was one of the hundreds of female celebrities and pop culture figures that were targeted. Last year, Hope took to her Facebook page to address the nude photo leak, as well as her domestic violence charges.

“It is extremely sad and unfortunate that the rights of so many women were violated by the unauthorized release of private photographs. This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency and, as such, I stand united with all the women affected and am exploring every option to protect my privacy.

In addition, while I understand that the public desires more information regarding the allegations against me, I continue to maintain my innocence against these charges. And, once all the facts come to light and the legal process is concluded, I am confident that I will be fully exonerated.”

Solo worked hard to prove herself once she returned to the U.S. team following her suspension. She had to meet strict conditions on behalf of the U.S. Soccer team. Solo revealed that she met with a therapist and focused on herself. She even launched a blog, where she records her journey.

Hope Solo had more to say about her award. She wanted to thank the people who helped her get her to where she is today.

“As for my Golden Glove award, I’d like to dedicate it to my teammates and all the coaches that have stood by me all this time, in good times and bad, when I needed their support.

It may be an individual award, but there are a lot of people who enabled me to be here holding this trophy today, which is the greatest moment of my career, and I thank them. I dedicate it to my coaches and my teammates, especially my defenders.”

What are your thoughts on Hope Solo’s win? Do you think she deserves the award? Do you think Solo should have been assigned to the U.S. Soccer despite her controversial past? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.

[Image: Rich Lam / Getty Images]