USWNT defender Christie Rampone discusses Hope Solo's mindset
U.S. women's national team defender Christie Rampone joined SI Now on Monday and discussed how teammates have interacted with goalkeeper Hope Solo as Solo dealt with issues off the field.
Last June, Solo was charged with two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault for allegedly hitting her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew. A judge dismissed the charges in January, saying the case was "impermissibly prejudiced" by a lack of cooperation from witnesses.
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Solo continued to play while she faced the charges.
In January, Solo was suspended by U.S. Soccer for 30 days after her husband, former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Solo was in the car at the time, but she was not arrested or detained.
Solo was reinstated in February and named to the 25-player-roster for the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal, which the U.S. won when it defeated France 2-0 in the championship match.
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"She has gone through some rough stuff off the field," Rampone said of her longtime teammate on SI Now. "But you know what? It's brought us closer together as a team because you have to confront those issues, and Hope's confronted the team and has apologized and is in a better place for that, and it makes the team that much stronger going into this World Cup."
There are less than two months remaining before the start of the Women's World Cup in Canada. The U.S., ranked No. 2 behind Germany in FIFA's latest rankings, will play its first group match against Australia on June 8.
