A Long Way To Go

Just about every time there was an occasion for commercial during the world cup, the following quote rang out from a piece of Nike’s ATHLETE line of ads, a campaign meant to advance women’s sports:

“Female athletes have to overcome the bias that their game isn’t as good as the men’s game.”

On and off the field, this World Cup took a giant leap in that direction. We saw a bona fide superstar in Brazil’s Marta, a feel-good underdog in Australia, controversy galore in the United States net, and the eventual victory of the best soccer team in the world. Unfortunately, the leap wasn’t quite giant enough.

The United States, for their part, provided a happy ending for their fans in the third place game thanks to the remarkable leadership of Kristine Lilly. After coach Greg Ryan further complicated team dynamics by hiding behind “team leaders” in his suspension of keeper Hope Solo, the venerable American captain served as the heart of a team desperate for one. Her teammates, for their part, followed her lead. Leslie Osborne in particular challenged every loose ball and spent almost as much time on the ground as on her feet. Lori Chalupny always plays all out and she didn’t disappoint on Sunday. Aly Wagner created a goal by blocking a Norway clear with her face. Heather O’Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley notched the final U.S. goal through the kind of sheer tenacity the American team had been missing of late. And though it perhaps stirred up the controversy once again, Briana Scurry looked more confident and considerably more in control of her defense than she had in the semifinal loss.

The Americans also enjoyed one of the most touching moments in the tournament when Kristine Lilly left the game in the 89^th minute to a rousing ovation from the crowd, who had been cheering for Norway all night. When asked about it later, Lilly smiled and said “This is a moment and this will rack up with one of my top moments in my career because of what we accomplished.” Hats off to her.

All that only made it worse when the halftime show held up the women’s sports bias with a puff piece on the death of Hope Solo’s father earlier this summer. Following widespread criticism of Solo’s comments after the semifinal, the introduction of the halftime piece suggested that “maybe [our] stance would be softened.”

For the sake of American soccer, we all hope the team will eventually forgive her, that she will serve her suspension, pay her debts, and return to her place as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But the piece was a misguided attempt to evoke sympathy because we all feel uncomfortable with what Solo did. Not because it’s never been done before, not because it’s absolutely unforgivable, but because of who she is and what she represents to us. Vince Carter dogs it in Toronto, Terrell Owens attacks Donovan McNabb and we see it for what it is – inexcusable. But Hope Solo? Pretty girls don’t attack teammates, right? Pretty girls don’t betray their sisters to the media, right? There must be some excuse, some reason.

For the record, I am certainly sorry that Solo lost her father this summer after what sounds like a very difficult relationship with him throughout her childhood. I’m sorry he never saw her play for the national team, and it’s especially poignant that he died of a heart attack only eight days before he was to see her play in New York. She seems like a nice person and she has done wonderfully to keep her focus through what was, I’m sure, a very difficult summer.

We know that she’s sorry, that the real target of comments was Greg Ryan, not her teammate and fellow U.S. keeper, and we hope the team can heal, but to question her character, her determination, her ability to persevere through adversity is insulting. It’s insulting to Hope Solo as a player and a person, and it’s insulting to women’s sports.

As Wambach said, “our team showed today that we have serious character. We’re women of heart.” Indeed they were. But unfortunately, that’s not what stuck out. Women’s sports still have a long way to go.