Hope Solo to face domestic violence charges after court decision reversed
U.S. women's national team goalkeeper Hope Solo again faces domestic violence charges after a previous court decision was reversed on Friday, according to ESPN.
Solo faced two counts of domestic violence to the fourth degree after a June 2014 incident at the home of her half-sister. The case was dismissed on procedural grounds in January as the case approached trial. Prosecutors appealed that decision immediately.
ESPN's Outside the Lines reports that a Washington state appeals court reversed the decision. A document filed Friday to the state court's website did not offer a timetable for a new trial. The case has been remanded to the Kirkland, Wash., Municipal Court.
In response to the reversal, Solo’s attorney, Todd Maybrown, said in a statement, “We are shocked and disappointed by the judge’s ruling this morning. However, we maintain our position that the charges in this case should have never been filed, that the original trial court’s dismissal of the case was correct, and we plan to file an appeal of today’s decision with the Court of Appeals.”
Outside the Lines reported in June that Solo was in a “drunken rage” when she attacked her half-sister, Teresa Obert, and Obert's 17-year-old son. Solo has denied doing anything wrong and said she was the victim in the incident.
“She grabbed him by the head and she kept slamming him into the cement over and over again,” Obert told Outside the Lines. “So I came from behind her, and I pulled her over and, you know, to get her off my son. And then, once she got off, she started punching me in the face over and over again.”
• Hope Solo's husband says domestic violence controversy a 'witch hunt'
Solo broke the U.S. women's record for career shutouts last September. She led the USWNT to a World Cup victory in July.
- Jeremy Woo
