'Why Hope Solo Should Be Suspended From Team USA Immediately': Media Smashed Black Athletes On Domestic Violence - White Female Athlete Abuser Gets Free Ride

Apparently, as white female athlete, Hope Solo didn't fit the narrative (men abusing women) that domestic violence advocates were promoting.

Hope Solo. (Photo by kkimphotography)

Many of the very same people who screamed for suspensions and firings of black athletes for domestic violence were dead silent on soccer player Hope Solo who has been charged with attacking her sister, nephew and mother. Solo admitted and apologized for the attack, but she continues to play while her domestic violence case is pending. Of course, there's been no national uproar.

By Kate Fagan
Hope Solo should not be playing right now for the U.S. Women's National soccer team.

Earlier this year, the star keeper was arrested for allegedly attacking her sister and 17-year-old nephew. The police report said Solo was "intoxicated and upset," and she allegedly called her nephew "too fat" to be an athlete. Also according to the report, the boy had blood on his shirt, and his mother (Solo's sister) was visibly injured.

After a flurry of media reports directly after the June altercation -- Solo has a court date set for November -- very little has been said or written in the media about the pending case. After a brief hiatus, Solo quietly went back to playing with her club team, the Seattle Reign, as well as with the national team, which is in the final stages of qualifying for the 2015 Women's World Cup.

Looking the other way when star athletes face charges of domestic violence has been the standard operating procedure for decades. Nothing to see here; keep it moving. And in this way, sports have merely reflected society, where domestic violence goes underpunished, underreported and misunderstood.

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"Solo is accused of violence against a family member; she should be suspended until she handles her legal issues. It's worth noting that a lack of national coverage (to this moment, anyway) of Solo's situation isn't as much a reflection of a double-standard in the coverage of assault as it is a reflection of the attention paid to the NFL versus the attention paid to women's sports. Female athletes mostly fly below the radar -- for better and for worse."

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