Hope Solo still playing despite domestic violence charges

In case you haven't noticed over the past few weeks, the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell have come under fire for their lax punishment of no less than five players being charged with various domestic violence and child abuse incidents.

While the media seems to find numerous angles in crucifying Goodell and team owners over their less than sparkling record for disciplining these players, these same crusading, self-righteous reporters seem to have ignored one domestic violence case where the charged person is still playing and have even celebrated the person charged with the offense.

Hope Solo.

While fans burn their Ray Rice jerseys and media-types rake the NFL over the coals, where are the do-gooders' outrage at Solo continuing to play while Adrian Peterson, who has been accused of child abuse, is suspended (rightfully so) from playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

The 33-year-old Solo, one of the biggest and most marketable stars in women’s sports, is accused of the same criminal charges as the NFL players, but continues to play for her pro team as she waits for the national team trials in November.  Solo was even cheered for extending her shutout record to 73 games as the U.S. women’s national team beat Mexico 4-0 in a friendly Thursday night in Rochester, N.Y.

Would Peterson get this type of reaction for gaining 200 yards?

As Cindy Boren of The Washington Post wrote:

Unlike some of the biggest NFL stars, Solo, who is their counterpart in women’s soccer and someone touted as a role model, quietly goes about her business of keeping soccer balls from going into the net. NFL stars like Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyer and Adrian Peterson were banished after massive sponsor, political and fan pressure, but Nike, for instance, has remained silent on Solo.

At least some social media has noticed the double standard:

If we're going to criticize #NFL teams for their handling of domestic violence, how do we feel about #USWMNT letting Hope Solo play?
— Robert Flores (@RoFloESPN) September 18, 2014

Hope Solo is playing in a US soccer game tonight despite 2 domestic assault charges. No outrage here though, right? pic.twitter.com/edJNBeFWcH
— Phillip Mena (@phillipmenaKPRC) September 18, 2014

Comparing hulking NFL player Rice punching and knocking out his fiancee to a female soccer player accused of assaulting her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew is arguable — but it is still domestic violence. And if this behavior shouldn't happen in the NFL, it shouldn’t happen in women’s sports, either.

Solo's team, the Reign, rationalized their decision to keep her on the field by saying they were still collecting evidence on the case. The U.S. Soccer national team is apparently following suit.

If she wasn't one of the most high-profile players, in a low-profile league, Solo probably wouldn't be playing.

Solo has apologized on Facebook for what she characterized as “a highly unfortunate incident.”

But, if abuse is abuse, then fair is fair.