With U.S. Soccer presidential bid, Hope Solo aims to make soccer accessible again
Hope Solo made a name for herself as one of the most accomplished soccer goalkeepers in the world. She helped the U.S. women's team win the 2015 World Cup, played on three consecutive Olympic teams and set records for the longest undefeated streak by a goalkeeper.
But she's also made headlines for what happened off the field. In her years on the U.S. national team, Solo spoke out about coaching decisions, was suspended for 30 days, and encouraged teammates to join her in a federal complaint alleging wage discrimination.
Her time with the team came to an explosive end in 2016 when the United States Soccer Federation terminated her contract for negative comments she made about an opposing team at the Rio Olympics. Now, Solo has launched a bid to lead the same organization that axed her.
Solo joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss what kind of change she'd like to bring to the organization as president.
"For 20 years during my career I fought for change within the system. I fought for gender equity, I fought against injustices, and we weren't really getting anywhere. So this became kind of a natural step for me to really, really continue that fight, to run for president and to really get inside the organization and force this change that we've been fighting for 20 years to do," Solo said.
She said her platform would focus most importantly on developing youth.
"U.S. Soccer has $150 million in surplus funds and they don't put it back to the youth in America, and so it's really become this sport here in America that's dedicated to the rich white kid and we are excluding so many potential great youth players," Solo said. "U.S. Soccer's mission statement is to make soccer the preeminent sport here in the United States. We can't do that unless we make it accessible and affordable for every young kid in America."
According to Solo, the costs for young kids participating in sports continue to grow.
"It costs anywhere between $5,000 to $11,000 per year for a young kid in travel expenses, just for registration fees. And most kids can't afford it anymore," she said.
Even with her controversial history, Solo said she does have support within the federation.
"It's not just the board members at U.S. Soccer. It's not just, you know, the current leadership within the federation. Soccer is important to a lot of people and a lot of people have voting rights to this election," she said.
Given her past, some say she may be a great athlete but that she's not the best role model.
"I've been through things off the field but it's only made me a better leader and a better person. I'm done apologizing for them. I've learned from them and I think it's important that we all do the same," she said.
Despite a federal complaint about wage discrimination, Solo said the women's soccer team has still not achieved equal pay.
"Unfortunately, the federation tries to convolute it to the general public by saying, well, it's equitable. But what's equitable mean? That's the same thing as equal. Really, we're still not there yet. That's another part of my platform, gender equality," she said.