In this story on Hope Solo’s book, we read this about her meeting with then-U.S. coach Greg Ryan: “She writes that during a meeting with Ryan, he pushed her back onto a couch as she tried to leave.”
The athletic department at Michigan, where Ryan coaches now, sent this statement from Ryan:
This allegation is completely false. I did not shove or push Hope as I’ve been accused in her book. I would have been terminated immediately by USA Soccer had this allegation been true. I have openly discussed the contents of the meeting and this is the first time that this accusation has been brought to light.
Hope was disappointed that I benched her for the semifinals but it was the right move for the team. It was discussed with team leaders and they stood by my decision.
It’s in the past and I’ve moved on. I’m focused on the upcoming Michigan Soccer season.
So far, I haven’t seen any other reaction from team veterans.
Didn’t this incident allegedly take place during a one-on-one meeting? If it was one-on-one, I strongly doubt that Ryan would have been “terminated immediately” based on a he-said-she-said allegation where the truth would be next to impossible to ascertain.
How do you claim to have “moved on” when you are defending your coaching decision made five years ago in a response to a player claiming you shoved her?
In case the link for the 2012 Olympics epilogue was hidden by broken links:
Click to access SoloBonusChapter.pdf