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On Wednesday, the Conference on World Affairs at CU released its lineup for its 2019 theme, “Women and Girls Changing the World”. In this all-star roster of academics, business leaders, humanitarians and social justice advocates, the CWA board also chose to include soccer player and two-time Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo.
In an athletic era defined by its progress in empowering victims of violence, the CWA board chose a perpetrator. Hope Solo was arrested in 2014 for assaulting her little sister and her nephew while intoxicated. While in jail, Solo allegedly cursed out and repeatedly insulted police officers.
The controversy surrounding Solo persists on the soccer field. U.S. Soccer banned Solo from the team for six months and terminated her national team contract following her calling the Swedish national soccer team “cowards” upon losing a semi-finals match to them in 2016. Before the 2016 Rio Olympics, Solo came under social media scrutiny for her insensitive tweets about Brazil’s ongoing Zika virus epidemic.
Prior to these incidents, Hope Solo has criticized her teammates and coaches on social media and during various high-profile matches, such as the 2007 World Cup or the 2012 London Olympic Games. Even when the CWA Board focuses only on Solo’s athletic achievements, there still remains confusion as to why the board would invite a speaker who has been banned from her sport’s governing body.
Hope Solo clearly struggles to embody the values of leadership, respect and sportsmanship that the Conference on World Affairs seemingly wants to showcase during this year’s event. The CWA Board’s complacency demonstrates a remarkable lack of concern for survivors of abuse and violence.
Let’s be clear: there is nothing game-changing or impactful that Solo as a domestic abuser can contribute to CU or the Conference on World Affairs. To give an abuser like Solo a powerful platform undermines any effort on CU’s behalf to address violence and misconduct on campus — though the university has habitually failed students in the past when it comes to handling abuse and misconduct violations. Further, the decision to include Solo goes against the CWA Board’s mission “to engage, educate and inspire” the CU community.
Hope Solo’s history of violent abuse, unsportsmanlike behavior and insensitive remarks all go against the conference’s goal to broaden the perspective and invoke positive change within the CU community. Solo’s actions alone spoke about her character loud enough, and the CWA Board erred when they failed to listen. To include Solo as a major speaker this spring would be a harmful mistake.
This decision sets a dangerous, but not new precedent for CU. The CWA Board, which consists of faculty members, chancellor appointees, community members and students, sends the message with this decision that the stories of survivors of violence and abuse do not matter to the campus community. As the CUI has previously reported, it’s clear that CU does not afford victims of misconduct the dignity and justice that they both demand and deserve in the #MeToo era.
How can CU pride itself on its diversity and inclusion when it continually sides with abusers like Solo? How is it that Solo was chosen in this age of believing survivors of abuse and assault?
The CWA board’s choice to include Solo arises from one of two situations: either the board did not do the precursory two-minute Google search sufficient for understanding the depth and the credibility of Solo’s record of abuse and arrest, or they knowingly chose her to be a conference speaker despite this information. Either they did not care at all, or they didn’t care to find out.
Abusers like Solo benefit most from one thing: silence. It is exactly the board’s complacency in Solo’s actions that contribute to a campus climate that allows perpetrators to evade consequences for their abuse time and time again.
To afford Solo any sort of recognition for her athletic achievement tells athletes that sportsmanship doesn’t matter and sends the message to all survivors that their stories aren’t as significant as their assailant’s shiny gold medal. The CWA board should, at the very least, apologize for what the CU community hopes is an oversight in inviting Hope Solo to the conference. To bring Solo on campus to contribute to the conference during a year that celebrates the idea of female empowerment undermines the values of both the conference and the university.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Delaney Deskin at delaney.deskin@colorado.edu.
