Former US women’s soccer star Hope Solo was found passed out behind the wheel for more than an hour as her two-year-old twins sat in the backseat, police claim.
A police report from the scene of the Winston-Salem Walmart Super Center claims that a passerby had noticed Solo, 40, passed out behind the steering wheel of her car for more than an hour on Thursday, as the vehicle’s engine was running and her two -year-old twins were sitting in the backseat.
By the time police arrived on the scene, the warrant – obtained by CBS 17 – says, a responding officer could smell alcohol on her breath.
The warrant claims Solo refused a field sobriety test, and her blood was drawn instead.
Solo was then arrested on DWI, resisting arrest and misdemeanor child abuse charges.
She is due back in court on June 28.
Hope Solo, once know as an icon for women’s soccer and pillar to Team USA, was arrested for drunk driving and child abuse on Thursday. It was the latest in a serious of drunken mishaps
Solo, left, has two twins with former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens. They were allegedly in the car with her on Thursday when she was arrested for DWI
A police report claims that Solo was found passed out behind the wheel of her car at the Walmart Super Center in Winston-Salem with her two children sitting in the backseat for more than an hour
Winston-Salem police had earlier told DailyMail.com in a statement: ‘Officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department arrested Hope Amelia Stevens (Hope Solo) on Thursday, March 31, 2022 in the parking lot of a business located at 3475 Parkway Village Circle in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.’
‘Ms. Stevens is charged with Impaired Driving (DWI), Resisting Arrest and misdemeanor Child Abuse,’ the statement continued.
‘Ms. Stevens had her two children in the vehicle with her at the time of this offence. Ms. Stevens was processed and subsequently released from the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center.’
Following the arrest, Solo’s attorney Rich Nichols released a statement on her behalf, saying there is more to the story.
‘On the advice of counsel, Hope can’t speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges.’
Solo herself finally broke her silence on Saturday, claiming she would ‘share the facts’ of her arrest ‘in due time.’
In a message posted to her Instagram, Solo thanked those ‘who have reached out showing love and support,’ and told her 943,000 followers: ‘Our family is strong and surrounded with love.
Two days after her arrest, on Saturday, Solo wrote on Instagram that her family is ‘strong,’ and they ‘will be able to share the facts in due time’
‘Our kids are strong, intelligent, happy and vibrant,’ she continued, ‘and we are present every day giving them the best life possible.
‘We will be able to share the facts in due time,’ Solo said of her arrest Thursday. ‘In the meantime, our kids are enjoying the [North Carolina] sun, eating popsicles and playing on out property.
‘Life can be tough, but these are truly the moments that matter,’ Solo concluded her post, adding: ‘I feel blessed to have this kind of love in my life.’
But this is just the latest controversy the former soccer star has found herself in.
Solo first captured the world’s attention at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where her blocking skills helped bring the US to the finals and ultimately beat Brazil, the favorites to win.
In 2011, Solo became an icon for the sport as she played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup while recovering from a shoulder injury, with the team overcoming an early loss to make their way to the finals.
Despite losing to Japan on penalty kicks, Solo was awarded the Golden Glove Award for her outstanding plays.
While preparing for the London Olympics the following year, Solo developed a reputation as a partier, later admitting in 2012 that she was actually drunk during an interview on NBC’s Today Show four years earlier following her first gold medal win.
Despite the controversy enveloping her, Solo made a stunning performance at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, helping the US win by stopping nearly every goal against them
‘I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we met a bunch of celebrities [prior to appearing on the Today Show in 2008],’ Solo told ESPN in 2012. ‘Vince Vaughn partied with us. Steve Byrne, the comedian.
‘And at some point we decided to take the party back to the village, so we started talking to the security guards, showed off our gold medals, got their attention and snuck our group through without credentials—which is absolutely unheard of.
‘I may have snuck a celebrity back to my room without anybody knowing, and snuck him back out. But that’s my Olympic secret. When we were done partying, we got out of our nice dresses, got back into our stadium coats and, at 7am with no sleep, went on the Today Show drunk. Needless to say, we looked like hell.’
She has several previous arrests, including a 2014 incident in which she allegedly had a physical confrontation with her nephew. However, those charges were ultimately dismissed due to a lack of cooperation from the boy, a 17-year-old standing 6-foot-9, and his mother, Solo’s half sister.
In 2014, Solo became a media sensation for all the wrong reasons after she was arrested for assaulting her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew in their Seattle, Washington home
The year was muddied for Solo after battling a doping controversy and the arrest of her fiancée, Stevens (left), who was taken into custody by police when they found Solo injured. Solo never gave a statement to police about the incident, and the married couple
Solo married former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens in 2012. He was arrested just before their wedding for investigation of assault after a disturbance involving Solo, but he was not charged.
She gave birth to the couple’s twins in 2020.
Solo made 202 international appearances from 2000-16 and was part of US championship teams at the 2011 Women’s World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She was voted top goalkeeper at the 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cups.
Solo got a public warning from the US Anti-Doping Agency in 2012 after she tested positive for the banned substance Canrenone in a urine test.
Solo still played for the US Olympic team that year, winning gold in London.
‘I took a medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a diuretic,’ Solo said in a statement in 2012. ‘Once informed of this fact, I immediately cooperated with USADA and shared with them everything they needed to properly conclude that I made an honest mistake, and that the medication did not enhance my performance in any way.’
The star athlete had garnered a reputation as a partier between 2008 and 2012, a precursor of drunken incidents that would lead to two arrests in the years to come
Solo was expected to carry the momentum to the 2016 Rio Olympics, but she ultimately choked against Sweden in the quarterfinals during penalty kicks
Canrenone is classified as a specified substance, so its presence in an athlete’s sample can result in a reduced sanction.
‘As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with USADA to resolve this matter and I look forward to representing my country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London,’ she said.
In 2014, Solo was arrested at a suburban Seattle home on suspicion of assaulting her sister and 17-year-old nephew, but her attorney insisted that Solo herself was a victim in the altercation.
‘Hope is not guilty of any crime,’ attorney Todd Maybrown told the Associated Press at the time. ‘In fact, our investigation reveals that Hope was assaulted and injured during this unfortunate incident. We look forward to the opportunity to present the true facts in court and to having this matter behind Hope very soon.’
Officers responded to her sister’s home just before 1am on June 21, 2014 after receiving a call to the emergency dispatcher that a woman at the Kirkland residence was hitting people and that she refused to stop or leave, according to police.
They found Solo intoxicated and upset, saw injuries on her nephew and her sister, and arrested her after speaking with those present and determining that she was the primary aggressor.
In early 2015 while Solo was at a team training camp in Southern California, Stevens was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in a US Soccer team van. Solo was with him at the time.
The former Seattle Seahawks tight end later pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years on probation. Solo was suspended by US Soccer for 30 days.
‘Well, clearly, I wasn’t thinking,’ she told ABC in 2015. ‘I mean, it was a horrible choice.’
Solo was suspended for six months by the USSF in 2016 and her contract terminated after she called Sweden ‘a bunch of cowards’ following that nation’s quarterfinal win over the Americans. Solo filed a grievance that was settled.
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