U.S. soccer star Hope Solo says ex-FIFA president 'grabbed' her

[rooster59]

U.S. soccer star Hope Solo says ex-FIFA president 'grabbed' her

 

FILE PHOTO - Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter leaves the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being heard in the arbitration procedure involving him and FIFA in Lausanne, Switzerland, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy Picture Supplied by Action Images

 

(This story contains strong language)

 

(Reuters) - U.S. soccer star Hope Solo accused ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter of grabbing her buttocks during an awards ceremony five years ago, an allegation that the former head of international football's governing body denied.

 

Solo, 36, told a Portuguese newspaper that Blatter touched her inappropriately in January 2013 during the Ballon D'or awards ceremony in Lisbon. A spokeswoman for Solo on Saturday confirmed her comments.

 

"I had Sepp Blatter grab my ass," the former goalkeeper on the U.S. national women's team said in an audio interview with Expresso, posted on Saturday.

 

"It was at the Ballon D'or one year, right before I went on stage," said Solo, who received FIFA's women's player of the year award in 2013. "It's been normalized."

 

A spokesman for Blatter said in a phone interview on Saturday that Solo's allegation was "absurd and ridiculous, and it is not true."

 

Solo is the latest celebrity to go public with accusations of sexual misconduct by powerful men in sports and entertainment, including movie producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey and former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.

 

The high-profile allegations have inspired an online campaign, tagged #MeToo, that has encouraged men and women in all walks of life to reveal their own experiences with sexual harassment and assault, often years after they occurred.

 

Solo last month posted a statement on her Instagram page that commended women in the entertainment industry for having courage to reveal their experiences with sexual misconduct and suggested she had been a victim herself.

 

"From inappropriate comments, unwanted advances and grabs of the ass to coaches and GMs and even press officers speaking about players 'tits' and physical appearance, sexual harassment is rampant in the sports world," Solo wrote online.

 

"I always felt I'd 'handled it' and stood up for myself in those situations, but there were never any consequences for the perpetrators," she added.

 

Solo, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, played on the U.S. women’s soccer team from 2000 to 2016, when it won two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup.

 

Blatter is in the midst of a six-year ban from all soccer-related duties imposed by Zurich-based FIFA’s ethics committee after a corruption scandal.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-12

[SheungWan]

Clearly not possible as Blatter's hands would have been weighed down by the suitcases of cash at the time in question.

[steven100]

another one jumping on the bandwagon .....  seems to be in vogue at the moment ...  they all see $$$'s   imo

[stevenl]

12 minutes ago, steven100 said:

another one jumping on the bandwagon .....  seems to be in vogue at the moment ...  they all see $$$'s   imo

I don't think she is after $$$.

 

Could be a jumping on the band wagon case, happening a lot at the moment and sometimes it really is overdone, on the ohter hand, people in power do abuse their powers, and Blatter has abused his powers a lot in the past. So it would not surprise me at all if she is talking the truth.

[boomerangutang]

.....and now we're hearing reports that the doctor heading the USA women's gymnastic squad was sexually abusing girls for quite awhile.  The doctor's name is Nassar. Here's an excerpt from today's NPR article:

 

"According to the Lansing State Journal, Nassar's attorneys have defended his actions — including breast massages and digital vaginal and anal penetration for up to 20 minutes as a time — as helpful medical treatments."

 

SOURCE / US's NPR

 

[phantomfiddler]

Never been a fan of Blatter, but who on this earth has never been guilty of some form of the new term "inappropriate behaviour" ?

[spidermike007]

What I do not really understand about all of this, is that these guys who are in position of great power and possessing great wealth, are able to get pretty much whatever they want. Women are attracted to wealth and power, and men that are well connected. So, why do they need to force themselves on women who do not want them? And if they are married, with families, why not use high priced escorts, who guarantee their safety, and discretion? That is what most stars have been doing for ages now. 

 

Some of these stories sound real, like the Spacey stories and the Weinstein stories. Some sound fishy, like the Steven Seagal stories. He gets what he wants. Why the need to force himself on others? No doubt there is alot of opportunistic stuff going on right now. And no doubt, this is an escalation of the "war on men", that has been happening in the US for quite some time now. The women there are becoming increasingly aggressive, in their pursuit of what they consider to be a man's breach of etiquette, and most women in the US, continue to ask for nearly complete emasculation, of most men. 

 

Look, in the case of Louis CK, it is said that he invited two women up to his room. They were aspiring comedians, wanting to learn from the master. Well what did they think was going to take place up in his hotel room? A lesson in comic technique? And if he did undress, and he did start to go at it, they were certainly free to get up and leave the room, at any point. Right? As far as the stories go, they were not chained to the beds. Right? Something smells fishy with this story. 

[tryasimight]

10 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

.....and now we're hearing reports that the doctor heading the USA women's gymnastic squad was sexually abusing girls for quite awhile.  The doctor's name is Nassar. Here's an excerpt from today's NPR article:

 

"According to the Lansing State Journal, Nassar's attorneys have defended his actions — including breast massages and digital vaginal and anal penetration for up to 20 minutes as a time — as helpful medical treatments."

 

SOURCE / US's NPR

 

works for me!!...20 minutes is a bit of a stretch for foreplay though!!

[tryasimight]

41 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

What I do not really understand about all of this, is that these guys who are in position of great power and possessing great wealth, are able to get pretty much whatever they want. Women are attracted to wealth and power, and men that are well connected. So, why do they need to force themselves on women who do not want them? And if they are married, with families, why not use high priced escorts, who guarantee their safety, and discretion? That is what most stars have been doing for ages now. 

 

Some of these stories sound real, like the Spacey stories and the Weinstein stories. Some sound fishy, like the Steven Seagal stories. He gets what he wants. Why the need to force himself on others? No doubt there is alot of opportunistic stuff going on right now. And no doubt, this is an escalation of the "war on men", that has been happening in the US for quite some time now. The women there are becoming increasingly aggressive, in their pursuit of what they consider to be a man's breach of etiquette, and most women in the US, continue to ask for nearly complete emasculation, of most men. 

 

Look, in the case of Louis CK, it is said that he invited two women up to his room. They were aspiring comedians, wanting to learn from the master. Well what did they think was going to take place up in his hotel room? A lesson in comic technique? And if he did undress, and he did start to go at it, they were certainly free to get up and leave the room, at any point. Right? As far as the stories go, they were not chained to the beds. Right? Something smells fishy with this story. 

Smells fishy......quite likely

[riceyummm]

On 11/12/2017 at 7:14 PM, tryasimight said:

Smells fishy......quite likely

Yeah, one of the main reasons I like Thai ladies, not fishy, smell wise.

[Rancid]

On 11/12/2017 at 6:31 PM, spidermike007 said:

What I do not really understand about all of this, is that these guys who are in position of great power and possessing great wealth, are able to get pretty much whatever they want. Women are attracted to wealth and power, and men that are well connected. So, why do they need to force themselves on women who do not want them? And if they are married, with families, why not use high priced escorts, who guarantee their safety, and discretion? That is what most stars have been doing for ages now. 

 

Some of these stories sound real, like the Spacey stories and the Weinstein stories. Some sound fishy, like the Steven Seagal stories. He gets what he wants. Why the need to force himself on others? No doubt there is alot of opportunistic stuff going on right now. And no doubt, this is an escalation of the "war on men", that has been happening in the US for quite some time now. The women there are becoming increasingly aggressive, in their pursuit of what they consider to be a man's breach of etiquette, and most women in the US, continue to ask for nearly complete emasculation, of most men. 

 

Look, in the case of Louis CK, it is said that he invited two women up to his room. They were aspiring comedians, wanting to learn from the master. Well what did they think was going to take place up in his hotel room? A lesson in comic technique? And if he did undress, and he did start to go at it, they were certainly free to get up and leave the room, at any point. Right? As far as the stories go, they were not chained to the beds. Right? Something smells fishy with this story. 

I think they are so used to getting what they want that they believe a bit of a push will do that for someone non-responsive. An issue of arrogance mixed with nihilism, you know the sort if you meet in a bar, you just want to hit them.