Hope Solo has been suspended for six months following a comment she made after losing to Sweden at the Rio Olympics. She called her opponents "cowards."

The US Women's National Team has come down hard on Hope Solo, suspending her for her comments after Sweden eliminated the US from the Rio Olympics soccer tournament.

The USWNT announced Wednesday that Solo would be suspended for six months for "conduct that is counter to the organization's principles."

The suspension is effective immediately.

Sunil Gulati, the president of US soccer, said in the statement:

"The comments by Hope Solo after the match against Sweden during the 2016 Olympics were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players. Beyond the athletic arena, and beyond the results, the Olympics celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect. We expect all of our representatives to honor those principles, with no exceptions.

"Taking into consideration the past incidents involving Hope, as well as the private conversations we've had requiring her to conduct herself in a manner befitting a US National Team member, US Soccer determined this is the appropriate disciplinary action."

The US lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals in penalty kicks. Afterward, Solo ripped the Swedes, saying they played like "cowards" in using a conservative style over the second half of the game.

"I'm very proud of this team," Solo said after the loss. "But I also think we played a bunch of cowards. The best team did not win today. I strongly believe that."

She continued, adding a barb toward former US coach Pia Sundhage: "Sweden dropped off. They didn't want to open play. They didn't want to play great soccer ... We had that style of play when Pia [Sundhage] was our coach. I don't think they're going make it far in the tournament. I think it was very cowardly."

Sweden lost in the final to Germany.

Solo will not be "eligible for selection" for the US until February 2017, according to the statement.

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US women's soccer coach Jill Ellis addressed the decision to terminate Hope Solo's contract for the first time Tuesday.

In August, Solo was suspended and had her contract terminated for her comments after the US women's team lost to Sweden in the Olympics. In a postgame interview, Solo called the Swedish team "cowards" for the way they played, saying the best team didn't win.

In a statement, Ellis said the decision to terminate Solo's contract was about more than her comments (via Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl).

"Over time there's been off-the-field distractions, and the federation has taken action. Each time action has been taken, there's been made clear an expectation that this would be the last time such a step would be necessary. Sadly, Hope's postgame comments forced us to make a significant decision. It wasn't a decision just made about comments. It was a sum total of actions that have unfortunately shown a negative light on our program."

In 2014, Solo was charged with two counts of domestic violence after an altercation with her half-sister and nephew. A report from ESPN showed that police records described Solo as "belligerent" and "intoxicated" when she was arrested.

Prior to the Olympics, Solo was criticized for posts on her social media accounts where she showed her protective gear against the Zika virus. Crowds in Rio later chanted "Zika" at her during a match.

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• Hope Solo penned a column for The Guardian on Wednesday, criticizing the US women's national soccer team for their celebrations in their 13-0 landslide win against Thailand on Tuesday.
• The former national team goalie wrote that "it was tough" to watch some of the celebrations, which she found "were a little overboard."
• Many have jumped to the team's defense, calling criticism of their celebrations sexist.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Three years ago, Hope Solo was kicked off the US women's national soccer team for unsportsmanlike comments. Now she's calling the team's goal celebrations over-the-top.

In a column for The Guardian on Wednesday, Solo sided with the many who have spoken out against the team for their field celebrations in their 13-0 defeat of Thailand in the Women's World Cup on Tuesday.

While Solo said the team shouldn't have let up against Thailand, she thinks they should have done away with choreographed goal celebrations once they were securely ahead.

The 37-year-old wrote that "it was tough for me to watch some of the US goal celebrations" because they seemed "a little overboard."

Solo said the No. 1 team in the world has to show more class

"A few seemed planned out and I do know some players spend a lot of time thinking about celebrations for the fans. It's not always necessary. We haven't won the World Cup yet," she wrote.

But she did applaud team captain Carli Lloyd for showing class and comforting the Thai goalie after the game.

Read more:Critics are slamming the US Women's National Soccer Team for celebrating their landslide 13-0 defeat of Thailand — but others have defended the team and say the backlash is sexist

Solo also appeared on "CBS This Morning" to discuss her column on Thursday.

When asked whether she thought the criticism leveled at the team was sexist, Solo said she disagreed.

"I think that's how we grow the game, we have to be criticized," she said.

She added: "We have to show so much class, especially coming from the No. 1 team in the world."

Solo admitted that she has been "no stranger to controversy." She made headlines in 2016 when she said the team played "a bunch of cowards" after a loss to Sweden.

After that comment, Solo was kicked off the national team and decided not to return to her club team, the Seattle Reign.

Solo had tended goal for the national team since 2000, appearing in three World Cups and three Olympics.

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• Olympic gold medalist and soccer star Hope Solo talked about having a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy in a profile in Elle magazine's July 2019 issue. She had been pregnant with twins.
• "The doctor said I was hours from dying," she told Elle. "They ended up having to remove my fallopian tube."
• Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg attaches itself outside of the uterus, rather than on the inside, where it's supposed to grow. 
• Since eggs cannot develop properly outside of the uterus, ectopic pregnancies must be treated. Typically, treatment is medication or fallopian tube removal. 
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Amidst the World Cup hubbub, former U.S. soccer star and Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo is speaking up about a serious topic: her experience having a miscarriage with one twin and an ectopic pregnancy with the other.

In Elle's July 2019 issue, Solo discussed multiple facets of her life, including the miscarriage she had in February 2018 when she was running for president of the United States Soccer Federation.

Solo thought she'd only been pregnant with one child when she experienced a miscarriage at home. But after going to the doctor due to the intense pain afterward, she learned there was another egg. This one was an ectopic pregnancy, which happens when a fertilized egg attaches itself outside of the uterus rather than in the uterus, where it's supposed to grow. These occur in 1 out of every 50 pregnancies, according to the American Pregnancy Association, and can be dangerous if not treated quickly enough.

"The doctor said I was hours from dying," Solo told Elle. "They ended up having to remove my fallopian tube."

Fallopian tube removal is a common treatment for ectopic pregnancies

Since a fertilized egg is unable to develop outside of the uterus, it has to be removed along with any damaged tissue to prevent damage to the person's reproductive system. If the egg were to remain outside of the uterus, it could grow and rupture the fallopian tube and cause heavy bleeding, according to the Mayo Clinic. If left untreated, the severe bleeding can lead to death.

Sometimes, a medication called methotrexate can be used to help the person's body absorb the pregnancy tissue outside of the uterus and potentially save the fallopian tube where the egg attached. But often, removing the fallopian tube like Solo's doctors did is the only way to treat the ectopic pregnancy. 

The fallopian tube removal procedure Solo described in the Elle profile is a common treatment for women who have ectopic pregnancies because the fallopian tubes are the most common place for ectopic pregnancies to happen. (Less often, ectopic pregnancies occur in the ovary, abdominal cavity, or cervix, according to the Mayo Clinic.) The fallopian tube removal surgery requires doctors to cut open the abdomen. 

Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are similar to a regular pregnancy, like a missed period, but also include abnormal vaginal bleeding, low back pain, pain in the abdomen or pelvis, and cramping on one side of the pelvis.

Read more:Beyoncé had toxemia when pregnant with her twins — here's what you need to know about the condition

Some people are more at risk for ectopic pregnancies than others

There is no way to prevent an ectopic pregnancy, but some people are more at risk for having one than others.

People with histories of sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea or chlamydia, for example, may have inflammation that increases their risk. Smoking, fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization, and getting pregnant while having an IUD birth control device can also increase a person's risk for ectopic pregnancy.

To prevent these risks, the Mayo Clinic's website recommends abstaining from smoking, limiting your number of sexual partners, and having protected sex to prevent the spread of STIs.

Similarly, miscarriages are not preventable, but people who have diabetes, use drugs or alcohol while pregnant, or are overweight or underweight have an increased risk for having a miscarriage. 

You can still get pregnant after having an ectopic pregnancy

If a person has an ectopic pregnancy, their chances of a future successful pregnancy may be reduced and their chances of having another ectopic pregnancy are increased. 

Still, having a healthy pregnancy after an ectopic pregnancy is not impossible. According to the American Pregnancy Association, if a person's fallopian tubes are both still intact after an ectopic pregnancy, they have a 60% chance of having a successful pregnancy in the future.

As for Solo, she told Elle that she started the process of in vitro fertilization in the hopes of starting a family soon.

• Read more:
• Kim Kardashian has a common health condition that made her need a surrogate. Here's what you need to know about it.
• 10 things to know if you're considering IVF as a fertility treatment
• How your fertility changes throughout the years

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