Hope Solo and the USWNT: When championships come before character. Is there a double standard in disciplining male vs. female athletes?

​Hope Solo has been at the forefront of the debate over the double standard that exists between pay gap of the women’s and men’s national teams but she might want to focus on the clear exceptions she has received as a star player and the possible double standard that exists in the punishment of women athletes vs male athletes. Solo to say the least has had a checkered past full of brushes with the law and controversial comments to coaches, competitors, and fellow teammates so her latest suspension which effectively now ends her reign as the USWNT goalkeeper comes as no surprise. The timing however is very convenient as outside of a couple friendlies the team has no World Cup on the horizon and the Olympics are over. In other words at 35 Solo’s career as the starting goalie was most likely over anyways and her “suspension” involves being able to play for the Seattle Reign as well as receiving her full salary along with 3 months severance on her National Team salary. So I ask when during her career did she ever miss an important game or tournament? Never. Controversial comments are mostly media driven and in general are made impulsively during and after extremely high pressure situations but Solo has been involved in far more series crimes, one of which is a domestic violence incident which involves accusations of fourth-degree assault charges by Solo against her nephew and half-sister which also include verbal assaults being tossed at arresting officers. Clearly Solo has used her status in order to swipe a lot of disgusting behavior under the rug and her final suspension is an attempt to save face. The USWNT is not fooling anyone, this is a player whose character was always in question, someone who has no respect for anyone outside of herself, and someone who should have been dealt with at the appropriate times but was able to play because of her talents on the field. The NCAA and NFL get a lot of heat over letting star players play after run-ins with the law and this is no different.