Hope Solo has received overwhelming support from other players on the U.S. women’s national team despite allegations of domestic abuse .
Until now, that is.
Solo’s former teammate, Jillian Loyden, whose sister was allegedly murdered by her fiancée, spoke out against the goalkeeper in a piece she wrote for USA Today, saying that she should be immediately benched while the domestic violence case plays out in court.
Loyden, who also retired from the U.S. women’s national team on Monday, said her nephew, who she is helping to raise, was a big part of what led her to speak out against Solo.
“This has been an incredibly hard thing for me to go through,” Loyden said. “In the last week, I haven’t grieved like this since the loss of my sister. It’s a very painful experience and one that’s not easy.
“The more I’m out on the field coaching, the more I see these young people playing soccer, the more I see my sister in these girls and my nephew in these boys, the more I realize that my voice wasn’t able to help my sister but my voice can help save people from encountering what my sister went though.”
Despite speaking out against her ex-teammate, Loyden called Solo a “personal mentor” and a “great friend.”
“I will continue to love her through this, and this (speaking out) has nothing to do with her,” Loyden said. “I hope that she’s innocent and that her name gets cleared and everything gets resolved.”
Photo via Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports Images
