Los Angeles, April 1, 2022 (AFP) - Following reports that former US goalkeeper Hope Solo had been charged with drunk-driving and misdemeanor child abuse, a statement on the World Cup champion's Twitter feed Friday said that the situation is "more sympathetic" than it seems.

"On the advice of counsel, Hope can't speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges," said a statement from Solo's attorney, Rich Nichols, that was posted on her Twitter feed.

Celebrity news website TMZ was among multiple media outlets reporting that Solo was arrested Thursday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and charged with driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest and misdemeanor child abuse.

Winston-Salem television station WGHP reported that local police had confirmed they arrested Hope Amelia Stevens, known professionally as Hope Solo, in the parking lot of a local business.

Police said that her two children were in the car and court documents said that a passerby observed Solo "passed out behind wheel" for more than an hour with the engine running and two children in the back seat.

Solo has two-year-old twins with her husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens.

Solo, 40, is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and helped the United States win the women's World Cup in 2015.

She has had brushes with the law before. In 2014 she was arrested at her home in Washington state for allegedly assaulting her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew at a family gathering.

Solo said at the time that she acted in self-defense and the case was later dismissed.