Hope Solo has requested that the domestic abuse charges against her be dropped. Her lawyer says that she is “seriously prejudiced” by the two alleged victims because they have not been available to give depositions. The decisions of the court may ultimately decide if Solo, whose considered one of the best women’s soccer goalkeepers in the world, will keep her spot on the U.S. team for World Cup play this summer.
According to the Washington Post , Hope Solo is charged with two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault for beating her half sister and 17-year-old nephew. The nephew is 6 foot 9 inches and weighs approximately 280 pounds, versus Solo, who is about 5 foot 9 inches, and probably weighs about half as much. Nevertheless, she allegedly attacked the nephew and half-sister.
Hope Solo claims she was acting in self-defense, saying her nephew hit her over the head with a broom stick so hard it broke in half. And for now, her attorney cannot prepare a proper defense because of the plaintiffs refusal to comply with court ordered interviews.
Her lawyer, Todd Maybrown, said that the defense has tried its best to get depositions, but since the plaintiffs refused, it was in “the interests of justice” to throw the case out.
“Such a dismissal is consistent with the interests of justice. Over the last several months, I have made countless attempts to schedule defense interviews and/or depositions.”
Maybrown goes on to write that if the judge doesn’t choose to dismiss the case, they should at the very least deny the plaintiffs the right to testify in the court.
So what exactly happened to bring Hope Solo’s family life into the courtroom?
According to court documents obtained by the Seattle Times , the fight happened at a family gathering in Solo’s older sister’s home in Kirkland, Washington, on June 20. Olympic champion Solo, who was already in a bad mood, called her nephew “too fat and overweight and crazy to ever be an athlete.”
The nephew then called Hope Solo a bad name, and ordered her to leave the house. But Solo continued to follow the teenager as he went to another part of the house, continuing to call him crazy.
When the nephew countered by calling Solo and her father crazy, the goalkeeper snapped, punching the teen in the face and tackling him. Then the half-sister got involved, so Solo attacked her as well. The teen tried to rip Hope off of his mother, hitting her over the head with a broomstick.
The court documents then say the nephew got a gun and pointed it at Solo to get her to stop. The gun was later identified as a broken BB gun.
Hope Solo’s trial, if it does go forward, will begin on January 20.
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