U.S. Women's Soccer National Team - Biggest News Stories of 2016
U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team – A look at news events in women’s soccer that dominated the headlines. Controversies and disputes.that occurred in 2016.
Here is a list of the biggest news stories of 2016 for the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team. We will countdown the events that shaped this team in what has become a historical year.
Number 4 on our list…
Megan Rapinoe’s Kneeling Controversy!
This all began in August 2016 when NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem during an NFL pre-game. Since then several others, including soccer player Megan Rapinoe have taken similar “kneel” in protest of the way certain minority groups have been treated in United States history.
Below is an article from CBS News on the matter at the early stages of the matter. And here is her direct quote on why Rapinoe was protesting. This article was from September 4, 2016.
A few days later, Rapinoe’s club team, Seattle Reign FC would play the Washington Spirit at their home in the Maryland Soccerplex. Spirit owner, Bill Lynch, being a former veteran himself, opposed Rapinoe’s protest, and played the national anthem while both teams were in the locker room to deny Rapinoe her chance at protest.
See ‘Sources’ for this Washington Post quote that Rapinoe made immediately after the game:
Meanwhile, the Washington Spirit management issued this statement about the incident:
The “discussion” between Rapinoe and Lynch also included her accusation that Lynch is homophobic:
In which Lynch denied:
A couple days later, the Washington Spirit players themselves put out their own statement on the matter:
The controversy did not end there. Her club, Seattle Reign FC, was fine with Rapinoe’s decision to kneel in protest. It was her First Amendment right, and did not violate any policies associated with the club. However, Ms. Rapinoe technically is paid and works for the U.S. Soccer Federation. So, when she wears a U.S. National Team uniform, she now represents her country. Would she continue the protests in defiance to the flag of her country and the uniform she wears when the United States would play Thailand in a”friendly” on September 16, 2016 ? The answer was “yes”.
The U.S.Soccer Federation released this statement following the game:
Rapinoe was not called up for all ‘friendlies’ that occurred for the last couple months, so the issue has quieted down. However, as far as I know, Rapinoe plans to continue her protest when soccer resumes next year.
Where do you stand on this issue? Are you in favor of Rapinoe using her First Amendment rights in this manner? Or, do you think that she should stand during the National Anthem as she is representing her country, and protesting on “company time” is not guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution? Place your comments at the end of this article or press the “Comment” button at the top of this page.
Sources to above articles and quotes:
This is the end of this section on Megan Rapinoe. However, there is still more! To continue reading, please press the “Next” button below, or you may navigate using the “Next” or “Prev” buttons at the top of this article.
Next: Go to Number 3 U.S. Women's Soccer Story of 2016
Hope Solo’s Contract Terminated!
Hope Solo has been the starting U.S. goalkeeper for the better part of a decade, and has been considered the best women’s soccer goalkeeper on earth for much of that. However, Ms. Solo is also known for some controversial events that have occurred the past few years.
She even said some controversial things back in the 2007 World Cup when starting goalkeeper Briana Scurry lost a game to Brazil 4 to 0.
The ‘Sources’ also has an ESPN link to that story:
At the 2012 Olympics, Solo got into a feud with famous ” ’99’er ” former soccer player Brandi Chastain as Solo thought Chastain’s TV commentaries were inappropriate during the Colombia game.
We move ahead to 2014, where Solo was arrested for a domestic dispute with her half-sister and nephew, However, in the aftermath, Solo claimed she was the victim.
However, other details emerged indicating Solo was intoxicated at the time, and belligerent to the officers investigating the incident. A copy of the police report is in ‘Sources’.
The domestic violence case was eventually dismissed in early January 2015 when Solo’s half- sister Teresa Obert and 17-year-old nephew did not appear in court.
Later in January 2015, Solo’s husband, Jerramy Stevens was arrested for drunk driving with Solo. They were driving a U.S. Soccer Federation van during a training camp week. Afterward, it came out that Solo also acted belligerently to these arresting officers. According to a report by TMZ.
She was suspended one month by the U.S. Soccer Federation at the time in early 2015 for this incident.
Now, we can finally look at her controversies at the 2016 Rio Olympics. First we have the “Zika controversy” where Solo donned insect protective gear and thus angered the Brazilian fans before the Olympics started:
Copied directly from Twitter:
So, when the Rio Olympics started in August, the Brazilian fans were prepared, and jeered “ZIKA!” every time Solo touched the soccer ball. This continued for the duration of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team’s involvement at the Olympics.
Unfortunately for Solo, her Rio Olympic controversies do not end here. She was interviewed by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated immediately after the team’s Quarterfinal defeat to Sweden and this is what she said.
By the way. this is the infamous “cowards” interview, which was copied directly from Twitter.
Full Hope Solo quote on Sweden after US was eliminated from the Olympics today.
12:52 PM – 12 Aug 2016
After this report came out, U.S. Women’s Soccer coach Jill Ellis, and the U.S. Soccer Federation Chief Executive Dan Flynn notified her on August 24, 2016 that her contract was terminated and she was suspended from the team for 6 months effective immediately.
This is directly from the U.S. Soccer website:
Here is a quick (and clean) video on the matter.
Here is another article that summarizes her controversial past.
There is suspicion that the U.S. Soccer Federation unfairly terminated her contract as it would weaken the USWNT stance on the collective bargaining agreement. According to Solo herself:
So, this question begs, why not punish Solo more severely back around 2015 when her domestic disturbance and husband’s drunk driving incidents were “fresh”? Was that to “guarantee” a 2015 World Cup victory? Now that the 2016 Olympics were over, and the USSF punishes Solo 6 months for a “cowards” comment, it almost implies that they no longer need her and she can be “discarded”. The “cumulative effect” timing seems a little peculiar. Granted, she should be punished for her previous actions, but why not more severely at the time of occurrence?
Do you think the U.S. Soccer Federation was justified in their handling of Hope Solo? Again, feel free to leave your comments.
Sources
We briefly mentioned Hope Solo and issues with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which brings us to the next slide…
Next: Number 2 U.S. Women's Soccer Story of 2016
U.S. Women’s Soccer Files an Equal Pay Discrimination Suit!
Back in late March 2016, Becky Sauerbrunn, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Carli Lloyd filed a lawsuit on behalf of the entire U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team against the U.S, Soccer Federation in which they claimed that they were illegally underpaid by the Federation. The complaint is now at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and is under review.
The team is currently bound by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which runs out at the end of 2016. Back in June, a court ruled that a boycott or strike at the Rio Olympics would be in violation of the current CBA.
There were negotiations that were started in October 2016, and according to reports, things are progressing slowly on this. However, neither the U.S. Women’s team, nor the U.S. Soccer Federation have filed a notice of termination This means that the U.S. Women cannot go on strike without 60 days prior notice.
Per Jeff Kassouf, editor at FourFourTwoUSA:
Crucial point of clarification on #USWNT‘s CBA: When it expires at the end of 12/31/16, terms and remain in place. “Status quo.” (Tweet 1/X)
Per labor laws, terms of CBA remain in place unless either party gives notice of termination 60 days earlier — which neither side has done.
So when that ball drops on 2017, there won’t suddenly be a USWNT without a single player. Only if/when there are 60 days notice
Please see this recent article as it gives more detail about this story.
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/03/us-womens-soccer-team-not-permitted-strike-rio-olympics
Plus here is a recent interview with Hope Solo. http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/12/22/ap-exclusive-solo-talks-about-future-fight-for-equal-pay.html
To be honest, I could have switched #2 and #3 stories as they might be about the same “weight”, but decided to keep this order as the Hope Solo story “tied in” with the CBA story more effectively this way.
Any comments?
Next: Number 1 U.S. Women's Soccer News Story of 2016!
U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Loses to Sweden at Quarterfinals of 2016 Rio Olympics!
Games Prior to the Quarterfinal
The U.S. started the year off with convincing victories over teams like Ireland, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago in January and February 2016. They later won the SheBelieves Cup in early March with 1-0 victories over both England and France, and a 2-1 victory over Germany.
However, the warning signs were there. On June 2, 2016, the U.S. played to a 3-3 draw on home soil to Japan, who was a player down for the last 33 minutes of the match when Ogimi was sent off for a second yellow card. On July 9th, they barely beat South Africa 1-0. However, South Africa’s highest FIFA ranking was 48th as of August 2016. This ranking is just below Trinidad and Tobago, a team that the U.S. normally “steamrolls”. However, it was possible that they were not “showing their hand” as far as strategies and did not play for a “convincing win” on purpose.
Once at the Olympics, they beat New Zealand 2-0 on August 3rd, and then defeated France 1-0 on August 6th. However, on August 9th, they tied Colombia 2-2 in a game where Hope Solo had 2 miscues that cost them the victory. However, one of the goals was brilliant shot by Usme and may not count as a “miscue” , but Solo completely botched the other play to allow the goal.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/rio-update-us-womens-soccer-draws-colombia
The Sweden – USA Quarterfinal
Which leads us to the Quarterfinal match with Sweden. The game itself has dozens of commentaries about coach Jill Ellis and some of her bizarre decisions to move Tobin Heath, the game’s best player, and put her on the defensive line. The substitution of Megan Rapinoe, a player who was recovering from an ACL tear, who was clearly not physically fit for 30 minutes meant she had to be subbed out again, thereby wasting a substitution completely.
But what also happened on the pitch seemed to be a complete lack of teamwork as the U.S. could not find a way to effectively break down Sweden’s “bunker defense”.
The game came down to penalty kicks in which the team lost 4-3 after the game’s 1-1 tie in regulation and overtime periods.
Then there was the aftermath of the game, in which Hope Solo infamously made the “cowards” comment, which was already covered in detail in the “Hope Solo Contract Terminated” article a couple of pages back.
By far, this was the biggest news story of the 2016 U.S. Women Soccer Team.
Here are some articles on this matter:
Great articles from other sources on what happened at the Rio Olympics:
What was your opinion of the Quarterfinal match?
Were there other news stories of 2016 that is worthy of discussion? Please leave your comments.
Thank you for your time reading this. Feel free to leave any comments about any of these stories.
Happy New Year!!! May 2017 be a wonderful year to EVERYONE on this planet! May any bitterness from 2016 be a forgotten memory…
Here are some videos to brighten up your day. This is the animated series of the players and coach Ellis that were made before the Olympics:
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