American goalkeeper Solo: Drinking alcohol was the biggest mistake of my life

Hope Solo, a former US women's soccer goalkeeper, has spoken at length about her treatment for alcohol abuse after being accused of driving while under the influence.

Solo was arrested in North Carolina on March 31, and initially she was charged with drunk driving and resisting arrest and a misdemeanor of child abuse, as she was accompanied by her two children during her arrest.

Solo's attorney, Chris Clifton, confirmed to Winston Salem on Tuesday that the charges of resisting arrest and misdemeanor child abuse were voluntarily dropped.

Solo was given a 24 month suspended prison sentence and the confiscation of her driver's license.

Solo, who made 202 appearances for the US national football team between 2000 and 2016, said she started an alcohol abuse treatment program in April and had requested that her inclusion in the National Football Stars Hall of Fame be delayed until 2023.

"It's been a long road, but I'm slowly coming back from my vacation," Solo wrote on her Twitter account.

"I made huge mistakes, the biggest mistake of my life, I underestimated the importance of alcohol becoming a destructive part of my life," she added.

"The upside to making a mistake of this magnitude is that the hard lessons are learned quickly. Learning these lessons was difficult, and sometimes very painful," she said.

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