Hope Solo Gets Booed at Olympics After Controversial Zika Tweets

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Hope Solo's Twitter drama followed her to the soccer field.

The U.S. women's soccer team opened the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday by beating New Zealand 2-0, but faced some heckling from the crowd following Solo's comments about the Zika virus. According to the Washington Post, almost every time the goalkeeper touched the ball, she was met with boos and even some Olympic fans yelling, "Zika!"


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Last month, Solo snapped a selfie while wearing mosquito netting over her face and holding a huge bottle of insect repellent. "Not sharing this!!! Get your own! #zikaproof #RoadToRio," she captioned the pic. She also shared a photo of all the mosquito repellent she was packing for her trip to South America.

Olympic fans and athletes alike have been taking extra precaution over concerns that cases of Zika, a mosquito-born virus, has been reported in Rio. If contracted, Zika can cause birth defects for women who are pregnant.


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Solo also spoke to the Associated Press about her Zika prevention plan, revealing that she spoke to "three different infectious disease doctors and specialists" before coming to Rio. "We prepared ourselves as best as possible, and we got to a level of being as comfortable as we possibly can be," Solo said of her team. "I'm wearing mosquito repellent just in case. I know the odds are very small, but you can never be too safe. I'm at a point in my life that I just want to be safe."

After being booed during her first game in Brazil, Solo appeared unfazed by the hostile crowd, telling reporters that she didn't hear the "Zika" chants because she was "focused on the game."

"I’ve played in Mexico before. I’ve played overseas. I mean, oftentimes it’s part of the football culture to boo the goalkeeper. I’m okay with that," she said. "What goes on around me in the stadium, honestly, it doesn’t really matter."

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