Hope Solo makes rare appearance in New York after 2022 DWI arrest that saw her passed out in Walmart parking lot
Hope Solo broke cover in New York on Wednesday as the World Cup-winning goaltender was spotted strolling through a busy terminal at LaGuardia Airport in what has become an increasingly rare public sighting of the US soccer legend.
It was more than two years ago that Solo star was discovered by police sleeping in her running car at a Winston-Salem, North Carolina Walmart as her two-year-old twins were seated in the back. She would ultimately be arrested and taken into police custody, where her blood-alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit. She also had THC in her system, according to a police report.
Solo ultimately agreed to plead guilty to DWI in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges of resisting a public officer and misdemeanor child abuse. A 30-day prison sentence was also dropped as Solo agreed to spend that time in rehab.
'I let alcohol get the better of me in a decision that I will never live down,' she said months later on her 'Hope Solo Speaks' podcast.
The Washington state native was the subject of a 2024 Netflix documentary, ‘Untold: Hope Solo vs US Soccer,’ and briefly hosted here aforementioned podcast, but has been otherwise conspicuously absent from public life in 2024.
Hope Solo makes a rare appearance while arriving to LaGuardia Airport in New York City
Solo has a lower profile in 2024, although she was the subject of a Netflix documentary
She had previously been an outspoken advocate for equal pay between the US Women’s National Team and their male counterparts, and publicly feuded former team captain Megan Rapinoe. Solo also has a high-profile marriage to former Seattle Seahawks tight end and first-round draft pick Jerramy Stevens, with whom she has the two twins.
But it was her 2022 arrest in North Carolina that appears to have changed everything.
The video from that night, published by Queen City News, shows a police officer knocking on the driver's window of the car before a startled Solo responds 'Oh, my God'.
She is asked: 'Hi, can you open the door for me? Are you okay? People were kind of concerned you guys were out here sleeping and want to make sure you were okay.' Solo claims she had pulled over and claims her stop was: 'Umm... because I took a nap'.
When asked how much she had to drink, the World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist says: 'It's OK if I...' before trailing off. She later responds to the same question 'I've had not' and 'I'm perfectly fine, thank you sir', adding that she has had 'zero alcohol' while scrolling through her phone.
Solo then takes a phone call.
'I was just trying to take a nap because I'm so f***ing tired from driving. Yeah, I, I mean, I pulled over in a Walmart parking lot to take a nap. I have no idea why he's here, but hang on,' Solo says, speaking into her phone.
After refusing a breathalyzer test, Solo is pulled from the car, while her two-year-old twins cry in the back seats.
Hope Solo is shown on the night of her DWI arrest in new footage released in 2022
Solo refused to take a breathalyzer test prior to being taken into police custody in North Carolina
Solo with the gold adidas glove award after the World Cup 2015 Final between USA and Japan
Solo is pictured with her husband, ex-Seahawks star Jerramy Stevens, and their twins
She is later handcuffed after continuing to tell officers she was simply napping.
In the aftermath of the incident, Solo decided to postpone her US Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony as she entered rehab. Later, she admitted to suffering a nervous breakdown while being forced to leave her family behind to seek treatment.
'Entering myself into treatment, awaiting the legal system, dealing with international and national headlines, canceling my attendance at the Hall of Fame induction, it seemed embarrassment compounded on top of embarrassment,' she said on her podcast on August 18, 2022.
'There were many days and nights of crying uncontrollably to having my very first panic attack. The thought of leaving my family behind to fend for themselves was almost unbearable.'
'Today,' she said on her podcast, 'I am grateful for my 30 days away to read, think, pray, mediate and learn.'
Solo continued, 'There is no shame if we struggle with alcohol or addiction. Thank you to the beautiful men and women who taught me this.'
A native of Richland, Washington, the 5-foot-9 Solo was a gifted scorer before enrolling at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she finally moved to goaltending.
The decision proved to be a good one as she went on to dominate in net for the US women from 2000 to 2016, winning a World Cup and two Olympic gold medals along the way.
She’s also had her struggles off the field, including a 2014 arrest over allegations of assault against her half sister and nephew.
