U.S. Coach Gary Ryan has kicked star goalkeeper Hope Solo off the team, citing her critical comments regarding his starting of Briana Scurry in the Brazil semi-final game of the Womens' World Cup in China. In comments published just this morning, Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly have spoken out in favor of Ryan's decision. Both indicated it was the right move in their minds to restore some semblance of good chemistry on the team.

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They may be right. It was indelicate of Solo to publicly criticize the decision to bench her (despite her incredible performance to that date in the WWC and the highly questionable nature of Coach Ryan's decision). In the emotion of such a heart-wrenching loss, I'm sure the team struggled to keep it together in the 24 to 48 hours after the match. Whether Wambach's and Lilly's comments were simply their best efforts to make good of a troubling decision, or revealed a deep seated need for conformity, I certainly don't know. Personally, I think it's a classic sign of the "Stockholm Syndrome". Both are great performers, and they seem to be rallying around their coach, despite his boneheaded decision to bench Solo for the Brazil game (come on, there can be no denying it was at the very least a highly risky move - the comment made by another blogger comparing it to leaving Pedro Martinez in game seven after he was clearly spent was spot-on, and to have sprung it on the team hours before the match - ... stupifyingly stupid).

So out of a game characterized by at least two glaring instances of incompetence, the person suffering the greatest (only?) penalty is the indelicate and spurned US goalkeeper. The fact that FIFA had once again placed grotesquely incompetent Swiss referee Petignat in one more high profile tournament game skates by without any real penalty. And, at least so far, Coach Ryan's decision to bench Solo only has contributed to the outcome of a US loss to Brazil and the dismissal from the team and humiliation of their best goalkeeper, he has not yet been held accountable for his poor performance as coach of the team for this game.

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Indisputably incompetent referee Petignat is free to continue to ruin every match she touches (which FIFA exec is she sleeping with? she has ruined nearly every match she has refereed in the last World Cup, the last Olympics, and now this World Cup - yet she continues to draw top assignments - how does this continue to happen? - there is simply NO excuse for such continued blindness to her inability to properly adjudicate big matches). And Coach Ryan is left to continue to coach the women's team (will he pull Scurry this Sunday and place Michelle Akers in goal?). Maybe it was the right decision, in the context of preparing his team for the upcoming consolation match, to remove Solo from the team. But it also has the appearance of making her the sacrificial lamb. What a waste.

Life don't make sense some times.

p.s. - Brazil's play in the WC pretty much solidifies the ruination of the game. Although highly skilled, they are bringing that most disgusting of soccer antics to top levels of the women's game: DIVING. The Brazilians took a number of dives in this match, with the Boxx red-card incident the most costly (as incompetent as she is, Petignat actually caught a penalty area dive early in the first half, although let Cristiane skate by motioning her to get up - NOT giving her a YC). Although not unknown in the women's game, it has not become the plague that has tainted men's world soccer until now. If this indeed marks a sea change in women's soccer, it's a sad day - they will have lost their primary redeeming quality - the relatively pure nature of their game, the focus on the display of skills vs. the panty-waisted theatrics/cheating so common in the men's game).