Hope Solo poses with her gold medal after the USA beat Japan in the gold medal match during the London Olympics at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 9.(Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports)
Disturbing details emerged when U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo appeared in
court Tuesday in Kirkland, Wash., with her fiancee, Jerramy Stevens, a
former NFL tight end, who was accused of striking Solo.
The
couple appeared in court on the same day they were supposed to be
married. It was unclear whether the two, who had been dating two months,
went ahead with the wedding. A judge found no probable cause to keep
Stevens in custody and released him.
Police responded to a
disturbance call at 3:45 a.m. Monday morning involving a fight at a
party, according to the police report obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
Solo's brother, Marcus, said he used a stun gun on one of the unwanted
guests at the party.
According to the police report, Hope Solo
yelled "don't say anything to them Marcus" at her brother several times
when questioned by police.
Police found Stevens hiding on the
floor between a wall and bed, according to the report. Stevens said he
was sleeping, not hiding, and that he did not hear the fight.
Stevens
had dried blood on his shirt and cheek and there were signs of a fight
in the bedroom. Stevens said the blood on his face was from a kiss from
Hope Solo, police said.
Based on Stevens' account that he had
been arguing with Solo, the sign of an altercation in the bedroom, her
injury and the blood on his shirt, police arrested Stevens on charges of
fourth-degree domestic assault.
Stevens told the officer he and
Solo had been fighting about whether they would live in Florida or
Washington after their planned marriage on Tuesday, according to police.
Court records show the two applied for a marriage license last
Thursday, komonews.com reported.
Stevens, 33, has a lengthy
history of run-ins with the law, dating to high school. He played
football at the University of Washington (where Solo also competed) and
was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. In 2000, Stevens was arrested for
the sexual assault of a 19-year-old University of Washington freshman.
However, prosecutors declined to file rape charges because of
insufficient evidence.
Solo, 31, is the starting goalkeeper for
the U.S. women's national team. She led the Americans to the Olympic
gold medal in London and Beijing.
Calls to her agent, lawyer and
the U.S. Soccer press officer were not immediately returned. The USA's
next game as part of its post-Olympic victory tour is Nov.28 against
Ireland in Portland. It is unclear whether Solo will be with the team.
Considered the best goalkeeper in the world, Solo's career has also been tinged with controversy. In her recent memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope,
she details her benching during the 2007 World Cup (in which she
criticized legendary keeper Brianna Scurry); she alleges then-coach Greg
Ryan shoved her (he denied it); criticizes members of the USA's 1999
World Cup championship team; and claims that Dancing with the Stars partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy slapped her (he denied it).
USA Today