It’s been a big couple of days when it comes to news about the more controversial U.S. Olympic athletes.
More:Thanks, Ryan Lochte, for stealing the Olympic spotlight from other well-deserving athletes
Today’s big headline is that swimmer Ryan Lochte is “in talks” to join the next cast of Dancing With the Stars. It’s kind of a no-brainer move on Lochte’s part — since he was caught lying about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio to cover up the fact that he actually drunkenly vandalized a gas station, his reputation has been just a little bit tarnished. But there’s still the fact that he hasn’t (and doesn’t seem likely to) faced any real consequences for his actions.
More:Hope Solo wants everyone to know her side of the story
Hope Solo fans are not having that.
Just hours before news broke that Lochte was being eyed for DWTS, Solo was suspended — for six months! — from the U.S. women’s soccer team for calling the gold-medalist Swedish team “a bunch of cowards.” According to U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, Solo’s comments were “unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players.”
So let’s review: Lochte, a man, defaces private property and gets to go on a reality show to make the public forgive him. Solo, a woman, speaks her mind and gets suspended from her team for half a year. Yeah, sure, that makes sense (not).
And Twitter has been quick to point out the serious discrepancy in punishment for the two athletes.
“So Hope Solo gets suspended for speaking her mind meanwhile Ryan Lochte gets cast on ‘Dancing with the Stars’?” Evan Ross Katz tweeted. Tegan Laing added, “so if Hope Solo got a 6 month suspension for saying a team was cowardly..shouldnt Ryan Lochte get a ban for actually committing a crime?”
More:Ryan Lochte’s gunpoint robbery lie is all sorts of weird — now he’s apologizing
Do you think Ryan Lochte should face some punishment for his actions in Rio?
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