As a former athlete, I can testify to the fact that losing is one of the worst parts of sports. I’ve been in those moments, where, no matter how hard you work or what you do, you don’t come out on top. And it sucks.
However, the way a person responds to this failure can ultimately define you as an athlete. For example, take Aly Raisman of the United States Gymnastics Team. At 22 years old, she just won a Silver medal in the Individual All-Around after missing the podium and finishing in fourth place four years ago in London. She’s gone on to claim that the driving force behind her silver was that fourth place finish.
Stories like this, and my own personal experience, are what have led me to believe that sportsmanship and class in the face of loss are a test that each athlete must eventually come face-to-face with. Hope Solo didn’t pass this test.
After losing to the Swedish side on penalty kicks on August 12, the goalkeeper for the United States Women’s National Team went on to call her opponents “cowards,” along with saying that they didn’t show up to play and degrading their win.
As Solo is a huge role model to a younger generation of soccer, this is a highly disappointing statement. In addition, with the importance that sports have in our day and age, it is always unfortunate to hear these athletes, male or female, not understand the impact they make on sportsmanship all over the world.
Although freedom of speech is an important aspect of our society, I wish that more of these professionals could realize that by saying these kinds of things, they show our younger generation that it’s okay to lose in a way that is not classy. They show the youth that you don’t ever really have to lose and learn from it, because you can just tear you opponent down.
As a hopeful future coach, I would never allow this from my players and I hope our society can also emphasize these values. In terms of Hope Solo, I think Julie Foudy hit the nail on the head when she hailed Sweden for their “tactical” approach to the game and called out a former teammate for her “classless” handle on the loss.