Hope Solo will serve as World Cup analyst on Irish television
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jun 6, 2018
RTE2 will carry 56 of the 64 games live. The other eight matches on the final days of group play will be streamed.
The analyst team includes Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady, Shay Given and Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill.
Last week, prosecutors in Kirkland, Washington, dropped domestic violence charges against Solo -- almost four years after she was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault in an incident involving her half-sister, Teresa Obert, and nephew, a minor at the time.
The case dragged through the courts as Solo's attorneys argued she was being denied the right to question her accusers, who were uncooperative, and therefore a speedy trial.
"The charges against Hope Solo were patently false and everyone involved -- including the trial judge, the prosecutors, the police officers, and Hope’s family members -- knew this case should have been over four years ago," her attorney, Todd Maybrown, said in a statement. "Instead, the City of Kirkland chose to callously pursue Ms. Solo at a massive financial cost to taxpayers and at an irreparable personal cost to Ms. Solo who suffered a public lambasting and damage to her reputation that will never be fully undone.
"Any suggestion from the City of Kirkland that its recent motion to dismiss was based on the witnesses’ desire to move on is absurd. The timing of the decision comes days before arguments were to be presented to the Washington Supreme Court where the City's agenda and blunders would be apparent and highlighted for all the world to see. The City’s witnesses never had any intention of testifying under oath, with the penalty of perjury attached. Their failure to show up to multiple court-ordered appearances is the very reason the trial judge correctly dismissed this case four years ago. These witnesses, and the prosecutors, knew that their fabricated claims could never withstand cross examination. We are pleased that finally, once and for all, the justice system prevailed and that Ms. Solo is vindicated."
