Olympic athlete Hope Solo has come out in her new memoir stating that her former "Dancing With the Stars" partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, "slapped" her "hard" during a dance rehearsal for the ABC television show.

In "Solo: A Memoir of Hope," the soccer player, 31, said Chmerkovskiy, 32, became physically temperamental during one of their season 11 dance rehearsals and that he slapped her when she made an incorrect dance move, reported by US Weekly on Aug. 17.

"He manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly. I thought that was just how it went -- how dancers worked with each other," Solo wrote in her book. "But it kept getting worse. One day, Maks was trying to put me in a certain position and hit my stomach so hard with his open palm that I had a red handprint there for the rest of the day."

Solo claimed that ABC executives gave her the chance to switch partners, but that she stayed with him "so as not to 'end Maks' career,'" and so that she would not be viewed as a "prima donna," according to Fox News.

Chmerkovskiy was previously partnered with Mel B, Denise Richards, Brandy and Kirstie Alley. The professional dancer has yet to win a Mirror Ball trophy but will have another shot in the show's new season, premiering on Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

The new season matches up professional dancers with past "DWTS" contestants and winners. Chmerkovskiy will be will partnered with Kirstie Alley. Click here for a complete list of the new lineup.

Solo just came from a big Olympic win this summer in London. Along with her fellow teammates, Solo took home the gold medal in the women's soccer finals, beating Japan 2-1.

Tags
Dwts, London 2012 olympics, Hope Solo