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Hope Solo describes ‘dangerous path’ that led to DWI arrest

(Brad Smith/ISI Photos)

Hope Solo spoke publicly about her March arrest for the first time Thursday on her podcast.

The former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper was found passed out behind the wheel in a Walmart parking lot in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 31, with her two children in the back seat. She was arrested and later pleaded guilty to driving while impaired.

“About four and a half months ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life,” Solo said. “I let alcohol get the better of me in a decision that I will never live down, a decision that has come at a great cost to me and my family.”

Solo, 41, opened up about the incident on “Hope Solo Speaks” after previously issuing a statement via social media. The episode comes three weeks after her guilty plea.

At the time of Solo’s arrest, her blood alcohol level was 0.24, which is three times the legal limit of .08 in North Carolina, according to the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office. Her blood test also showed THC in her system, prosecutors said.

“The reality of what this meant was horrific: The embarrassment, the shame, the financial loss, the thought of explaining this to my children when they’re old enough to search the internet,” she said on the podcast. “Mostly, I had to get to the bottom of why I found myself in that situation, in that moment, with a police officer knocking on my car window.”

Following her arrest, Solo spent 30 days at Hope Valley, an in-person rehab facility, something she called both “awful and great.” During that time, she said she had to come to terms with her journey since giving birth to her twins in March 2020.

The twins began their life in the neonatal intensive care unit, and they came home early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The isolation of the pandemic coupled with the lack of a support system at her new home in North Carolina led Solo to drink more heavily, she said.

“I was foolish to think I had it under control,” she acknowledged.

Solo said she was suffering through postpartum depression and the symptoms that come with it: unexplainable guilt, anxiety, restlessness and fatigue. She also withdrew from friends and family, she said, though she did not realize she was doing so at the time.

“I am proud of the work we have done in raising our children and all the hate on the internet or being mother-shamed around the world doesn’t have the ability to take that away,” she said. “Nonetheless, it resulted in stressful times, ones that were eased with a drink.

“In treatment, I was educated to the reality that my strength had become my weakness. My ability to compartmentalize and push forward through emotional pain in uncharted territory led me down a dangerous path… I found myself living the worst night of my life. I let alcohol get the better of me in this moment, on this god-awful day, and I will suffer the consequences for some time.”

Solo will now serve two years of probation, during which time she will see a court-approved addiction expert and abide by any other court-mandated treatment. Her driver’s license has also been suspended for one year.

“I will have to answer to my children in an honest, open discussion sometime in the future. I can’t just leave this behind me,” she said. “I can’t drive for an entire year, which is a massive inconvenience to my family and is a loss of independence. I have been used for s—- headlines once again, and once again, some accurate, many not accurate. But I gave the media and those who don’t know me a reason to actually talk s—. I was responsible for allowing this negativity into my family and upon my name.”

A member of the USWNT for 16 years, Solo was a member of the team that won the World Cup in 2015 and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

In June 2014, Solo was arrested on domestic violence charges following an alleged altercation with her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew. Those charges were eventually dropped. She was later terminated by U.S. Soccer after calling the Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” after the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Amanda Anisimova Ousts Noami Osaka from US Open Semifinal to End Comeback Run

US tennis star Amanda Anisimova greets Japan's Naomi Osaka at the net after winning the pair's 2025 US Open semifinal.
US tennis star Amanda Anisimova reached her second straight Grand Slam final with a three-set semifinal victory over Naomi Osaka at the 2025 US Open. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

Connecticut Submits Bid for the Sun as WNBA Team’s Sale Saga Continues

Connecticut Sun fans and team mascot Blaze cheer during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Connecticut Sun have played inside Uncasville's Mohegan Sun Arena since moving to the state in 2003. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

Chicago Sky Plans Team Meeting After Critical Angel Reese Interview

Angel Reese is consoled by her Chicago Sky teammates after being fouled during a 2025 WNBA game.
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese criticized her team's roster construction in the 'Chicago Tribune' this week. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

Gotham Faces Angel City in High-Stakes NWSL Weekend Clash

Angel City rookie forward Riley Tiernan dribbles the ball away from Gotham defenders Emily Sonnett and Jess Carter during a 2025 NWSL match.
Only one point separates Sunday opponents No. 8 Gotham and No. 9 Angel City in the NWSL standings. (Jessica Alcheh/Imagn Images)

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.

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