Sarah Spain · @SarahSpain
23rd Sep 2014 from TwitLonger
I don't have time to reply to every single person asking me "What do you think about Hope Solo?" So here are some very brief thoughts, ONCE:
1) Hope Solo is not Ray Rice, or Adrian Peterson, or Greg Hardy, all of whom have admitted to and/or been convicted of a crime. I was hesitant to speak about Rice in February, as the public had very few facts on the case. I feel the same way now about Solo's case. I'd like to have more info before making any definitive statements.
2) Hope Solo is charged with misdemeanor assault in a "family brawl." This is a serious crime, but it's not the same as knocking your fiance unconscious. While both may be termed "domestic violence," it's important to understand the different dynamics of each.
3) There are several reasons people are talking more about Rice than Solo:
Because the NFL is the biggest story in sports, always.
Because "fringe sports" don't get the same amount of attention: See MMA fight War Machine's domestic violence case.
Because women's sports never get the same amount of coverage, in good times or bad. Because with Solo, as with the Niners' Ray McDonald, who hasn't gotten much coverage, there is no video, there are no pictures and there has been no conviction.
Because history is riddled with incidents of men controlling women through violence.
Because spousal abuse is an epidemic in our culture that is often mishandled and terribly misunderstood.
Because the NFL has been historically lenient in domestic violence cases and now they are being forced to change.
Because, as far as we know, Solo's incident hasn't resulted in team-wide and league-wide cover-ups and lies.