Hope Solo: If I had to choose today, I'd miss Olympics due to Zika virus
Hope Solo may skip the Summer Olympics in Brazil in fear of the Zika virus outbreak.
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2 min read
The goal for the U.S. women's soccer team is to win a gold this summer during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. But will the team have to do it without star goalkeeper Hope Solo?
Solo, 34, is considering skipping the Olympics due to the Zika virus outbreak, according to Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
The illness, transmitted mainly from mosquito bites, has been connected to microcephaly in newborn babies in Brazil and other areas.
The World Health Organization declared an international health emergency on Feb. 1 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert for travel to areas where Zika virus is spreading, especially for travelers who are pregnant or considering pregnancy.
"If I had to make the choice today, I wouldn't go [to the Olympics]," Solo told Wahl on Monday.
Here's more from her interview:
"I would never take the risk of having an unhealthy child," said Solo. "I don't know when that day will come for [my husband] Jerramy [Stevens] and me, but I personally reserve my right to have a healthy baby. No athlete competing in Rio should be faced with this dilemma. Female professional athletes already face many different considerations and have to make choices that male professional athletes don't."
The story from SI said an unnamed USWNT player is still waiting before deciding on making the trip to Brazil.
Obviously, this is part of a larger issue, as athletes from all over the world will have to decide whether they will travel to Rio. According to Reuters, the United States Olympic Committee has told U.S. sports federations that athletes, coaches and staff should considering not attending the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio if they are concerned for their health because of the Zika virus.
USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky called the report innacurate. Via Reuters:
"Team USA looks forward to the Games and we did not, would not and will not prevent athletes from competing for their country should they qualify," Sandusky said.
We'll see what Solo and others decide to do down the road and if the outbreak is at some point contained to where it appears very safe to go. It's obviously clear that athletes are starting to take this Zika threat seriously, as we are just over six months away from the games.
As far as the women's national team goes, and amid a dispute with US Soccer, they still have to qualify for the Olympics. The team will play on Wednesday in Olympic qualifying against Costa Rica at 8:30 pm ET.
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