Soccer superstar Hope Solo was arrested early Saturday for allegedly striking her sister and her nephew at a Kirkland home.
Just before 1 a.m., Kirkland police responded to a 911 call about a disturbance in the 10600 block of 124th Ave N.E. The male caller had reported that a woman at the residence was hitting people and no one could get her to stop or leave the house, according to an account of the incident released Saturday by police.
Officers arrived and immediately heard the disturbance inside. They entered the house and contacted several people, including Seattle Reign goalie Hope Amelia Stevens (Solo), who officers said appeared intoxicated and upset.
“There was a big party going on at her house. It was an out-of-control situation,” Kirkland Police Lt. Mike Murray said Saturday.
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Officers reported that they could see injuries on Solo’s 17-year-old nephew and Solo’s sister. After hearing statements from those involved, officers said they determined Solo was the primary aggressor and appeared to have instigated the assault.
Solo, 32, was arrested and booked into the South King County detention facility. She is being held without bail on two counts of investigation of fourth-degree domestic-violence assault. She will have a mandatory court appearance Monday at Kirkland Municipal Court.
“Hope is not guilty of any crime,” attorney Todd Maybrown said in an email. “In fact, our investigation reveals that Hope was assaulted and injured during this unfortunate incident. We look forward to the opportunity to present the true facts in court and to having this matter behind Hope very soon.”
Just a week ago, Solo, goalie for the unbeaten Seattle Reign and for the U.S. women’s team, posted her record-tying 71st career shutout, as the U.S. beat France 1-0 in an exhibition match in Tampa, Fla. Solo has made 152 appearances for the national team.
She had been excused from Thursday’s Reign FC game in Boston due to a family commitment, but had been expected to be available for Sunday’s road match against the Western New York Flash in Rochester, the team had said in a Friday news release.
The Reign released a terse statement Saturday on the late-night arrest: “We are aware of the situation regarding Hope Solo and are currently gathering information. We have no further comments at this time.”
U.S. Soccer released a statement, too: “We are aware of the situation. At this point, we don’t have any further comments.”
Solo has also played on two gold-medal-winning Olympic teams and appeared on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” In November 2012, her then-boyfriend Jerramy Stevens, a former NFL tight end, was arrested for allegedly assaulting Solo. A stun gun was reportedly used to break up the altercation. Hours later, Stevens and Solo were married.
Stevens, who played football for the University of Washington, was released because of insufficient evidence in the case. He was never charged.
During an interview with The Seattle Times last year after the family dispute, Solo said she’s living in the spotlight.
“I’m in the spotlight, but not the truth,” Solo said. “That’s hard to accept, but that is unfortunately kind of how the world is and how the media is.
“Whether it’s with Hollywood, whether it’s with sports figures, whether it’s the president, that’s kind of how it works. I’m realistic and I understand that. That’s why it’s important for me to know who I am, to know I’m living my life the way I want to live, and that I am happy. At the end of the day, I can’t really let myself get too angry about outside opinions that are or aren’t true.”
Staff reporters Joshua Mayers and Craig Welch contributed to this report.