The United States Women's National Soccer Team's 4-0 victory over Mexico on Thursday extended Hope Solo's career shutout record to 73 games. Hope Solo for years has been the face of the women's soccer but she is currently under domestic violence charges and awaiting trial set to take place in November.

It's important to note that Solo has pleaded not guilty to two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence against her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew this past summer.

NFL players like Ray RiceGreg HardyAdrian Peterson, and Jonathan Dwyer have all come under heavy scrutiny for domestic violence charges while Solo has gone unnoticed. While women's soccer isn't nearly as popular as the NFL, Solo is a role model for young girls and is as big of a star as you can have in today's women's soccer.

All the above players mentioned have lost any support they may have had from sponsors such as Nike but nothing of the sort has happened to Solo.

The outrage and anger that has come upon Roger Goodell and the NFL has been well noted but there hasn't been the same outrage against the United States Soccer Federation.

Neil Buethe, U.S. soccer director of communications gave Christine Brennan of USA Today the following statement:

We are aware that Hope is handling a personal situation at the moment, at the same time, she has an opportunity to set a significant record that speaks to her hard work and dedication over the years with the National Team. While considering all factors involved, we believe that we should recognize that in the proper way.”

Yes, the NFL has a much broader audience and the most popular sport in the United States and that shouldn't mean that the U.S. Soccer should be left off the hook.

Domestic violence is a huge problem in our society and there is no such thing as 'less important cases.' U.S. Soccer should take a stand and learn from the NFL's mistakes and send a message to their fans and audience that domestic violence is not to be tolerated by any gender, race or age.

Women's soccer isn't as popular as the NFL but there's no denying the impact as a role model Hope Solo has to young girls all across the country and even internationally. Women's soccer may not be as popular in the United States as other sports but it absolutely has a presence on an international level.

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About the author
Bryan Castillo
Mechanical Engineer graduate from Texas A&M University class of 2012. Favorite teams are the Dallas Mavericks, Cowboys, & Texas Rangers.