Retired soccer champion Hope Solo said Friday she’s going into alcohol treatment following her arrest last month on suspicion of driving while impaired and misdemeanor child abuse.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper said in a statement posted to her social media accounts that the decision prompted her to request her induction next month to the National Soccer Hall of Fame be postponed until 2023.
“I will be voluntarily entering an in-patient alcohol treatment program to address my challenges with alcohol,” Solo said. “At this time, my energies and focus are totally directed to my health, healing and taking care of my family.”
The 40-year-old was arrested March 31 by Winston-Salem, North Carolina, police, who said she was passed out behind the wheel in a parking lot with her 2-year-old twins inside.
The Associated Press, citing an arrest warrant, said a witness saw her passed out for an hour in the vehicle as its engine was running. The warrant also said a responding officer could smell alcohol, the AP reported.
Allegations include driving while impaired, resisting an officer, and misdemeanor child abuse.
Police didn’t immediately respond to a request for information on the status of the case. State law partly defines misdemeanor child abuse as creating “a substantial risk of physical injury” to a child.
Solo’s attorney, Texas-based Rich Nichols said by email Friday there was nothing new to report about her case.
In early April he said in a statement, “She wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges.”
The Hall of Fame said it granted Solo’s request to move her induction to 2023. She’s was elected to the hall in January and was scheduled to be inducted May 21.
“The NSHOF fully supports her decision and looks forward to honoring her and her historic achievements at next year’s induction ceremony,” the institution said in a statement Friday.
Solo didn’t provide specifics regarding the length or location of her treatment program.
In early 2015, Solo and husband Jerramy Stevens, a former NFL tight end for the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were stopped in a U.S. Soccer van in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Stevens was charged with DUI and ultimately pleaded no contest.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
