US goalie joked about Brazil’s Zika outbreak, Rio crowd chants ‘ZIKA!’ whenever she hits the ball

Solo said that she was focused on the game and that the booing did not bother her.
US goalie joked about Brazil’s Zika outbreak, Rio crowd chants ‘ZIKA!’ whenever she hits the ball
US goalie joked about Brazil’s Zika outbreak, Rio crowd chants ‘ZIKA!’ whenever she hits the ball
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Hope Solo got herself into a bit of a soup last month when she posted a selfie online covered in a net, holding an insect repellant.

 

Not sharing this!!! Get your own! #zikaproof #RoadToRio

A photo posted by Hope Solo (@hopesolo) on

The US women’s team goalkeeper was making a reference to the Zika outbreak in Brazil. The comment did not go down well with Brazilians however, who seemed to be in no mood to forgive and forget.

On August 3, the Rio crowd responded with cries of “Zika!” some of the times the record breaking goalie hit the ball.

When asked by Sports Illustrated how the booing affected her, Solo said that she was focused on what she came for and it didn’t affect bother her.

“I wish people would understand that I did my due diligence before coming to Brazil. It was a personal decision I had to make alongside my husband. And it’s not something I just spoke about without getting educated on. It was something very serious to me because I do want to start a family,” she said.

She added that she was looking to get pregnant in the future and only went by the warnings issued by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as World Health Organisation, advising pregnant women or those looking to get pregnant, against traveling to Brazil.

She had said in an earlier interview that she would prefer not to go for the Olympics in light of the Zika virus being linked to microcephaly (a condition where the baby is born with a smaller head than usual; perhaps due to stunted brain development inside the womb).

The US women’s soccer team also supported Solo. Carlie Lloyd told Los Angeles Times that while she was aware of the dismissive chanting getting louder, they were focused on the game. Coach Jill Ellis said that while Solo had apologized to people of Brazil, they were used to getting booed in other countries.  

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