Every fan of the US Women's Soccer Team cringed when goalkeeper Hope Solo made negative comments to a Canadian Broadcasting reporter last week during the FIFA Women's World Cup. Solo criticized her coach and teammates bitterly. Shortly thereafter, the coach dismissed her.

Solo had been very successful in the tournament, holding 3 opponents scoreless, but she stirred up a huge controversy with her intemperate commentary and lost a vast amount of goodwill from fans. Some fans have rallied to her cause by lashing out at the coach. The whole incident reeks of bad teamwork.

As usual with an internet controversy, there is a lot of opinion back and forth without a lot of clarity. Judge for yourself. The interview was carried on ESPN in the US, but was actually shot by CBC. You can learn the full background at www.cbc.com/sports/fifawomens. Click on reporter Erin Paul's photo to read her blog about the incident.

This week Solo will attempt some spin control to salvage her career and endorsement deals, but her reputation as a teammate will be forever tarnished by this ill-considered outburst. Her fans and spokespeople are citing a number of factors as the emotional trigger, including her father's recent death, her emotional identification with the Brazil match and more. But these factors don't change the fact that she put ego ahead of team spirit.

The lesson here is simple and timeless: praise in public, criticize in private.