On August 9, 2012 Hope Solo (L) and Abby Wambach (R) congratulate each other after winning the 2012 London Olympic Gold Medal.
Retired U.S. woman’s soccer star Abby Wambach was arrested in Oregon on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, an incident for which the popular player apologized on Sunday (April 3) on social media.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. This is all on me,” Wambach said in a statement posted on social media.
Wambach, who helped the U.S. women’s team to the 2015 World Cup title and retired as the world’s leading international goal-scorer, was arrested late Saturday night in Portland after police saw her run a red light in her 2014 Range Rover, according to a statement by Portland police.
She failed field sobriety tests and was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants – alcohol. She was later released on her own recognizance.
“Wambach was polite and cooperative throughout the investigation,” the police statement said.
In her statement, Wambach said she had been having dinner at a friend’s home before she was pulled over.
She promised not to repeat her “horrible mistake” and apologized to her friends, her family, her fans, “and those that look to follow a better example.”
“Those that know me, know that I have always demanded excellence from myself,” she wrote. “I have let myself and others down.”
Wambach, 35, a former Olympic, professional and World Cup player, scored more goals in international competition than any other soccer player in history – male or female – before her October 2015 retirement.
She scored 184 goals in 252 matches in international play.
Wambach, a vocal supporter of women’s sports, led the U.S. team in scoring in every world championship she played until the Women’s World Cup in July 2015.
In that game, Wambach netted the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the final game of group play. The Americans defeated Japan 5-2 in the championship match, winning their first World Cup title in 16 years.
Having played in four women’s World Cup tournaments, Wambach played in two Olympics, winning goal medals in 2004 in Athens, and 2012 in London. She missed the 2008 Olympics with a broken leg.
Editorial content by Reuters, photos by ISI and John Todd.
