U.S. Soccer’s Hope Solo in spotlight again as husband held in DUI case

U.S. Olympic champion goalkeeper Hope Solo found herself in the spotlight again after the early-morning arrest of her husband on suspicion of driving under the influence near the team’s Manhattan Beach hotel.

Solo, 33, was held out of practice Tuesday and was awaiting a decision by U.S. Soccer to determine whether she violated any team rules.

Solo was in the car when Jerramy Stevens, her husband of two years and a former NFL player, was pulled over for driving without his headlights at 1:23 a.m. Tuesday. Solo was not cited in the incident, according to Manhattan Beach police officials.

U.S. Soccer spokesman Neil Buethe said discussions are taking place to determine whether there will be any disciplinary action.

“All I can say is that she wasn’t in practice” Tuesday, Buethe said. “She wasn’t sent home. She’s still in camp at the moment.”

Solo was not violating curfew because the team did not have practice Monday.

If she is found to have violated any other team rules, punishment could range from early dismissal from training camp, which ends Sunday, to being left off the roster for friendlies next month in France and England, part of the team’s preparation for this summer’s World Cup in Canada.

In the last 2 1/2 years, Solo has been involved in two domestic-violence cases — one in which she was the alleged victim and another in which she was the called the aggressor — as well as a number of public spats on social media.

After Solo was arrested and charged with assaulting two family members last June, U.S. captain Christie Rampone said she and other leaders on the veteran team would seek disciplinary measures if Solo was found guilty.

The assault charges were dismissed last week but the fact that Solo, the national-team record-holder in shutouts with 77 in 161 games, is back in the news less than five months before the World Cup opener is a distraction the team would have liked to avoid.

Stevens, 35, was previously convicted of driving under the influence in 2007 in Arizona. He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in November 2012 after allegedly injuring Solo but was released the next day because of a lack of evidence. Hours later, Stevens and Solo married.

A spokeswoman for Solo did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

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