A day after U.S. Soccer announced an investigation into manager Gregg Berhalter over a 1991 domestic violence incident involving his now wife, it was revealed that the U.S. federation received the tip from the disgruntled mother of a young star who spent most of the tournament in Qatar planted on the bench.
Danielle Reyna, the mother of Gio Reyna and husband of ex-national team star Claudio Reyna, said in a statement published by multi-outlets including ESPN and Fox Sports on Wednesday that she was the one who reported the decades-old incident involving Berhalter. She said she passed the information on to Earnie Stewart, the sporting director of USSF, and Berhalter’s boss.
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U.S. Soccer has since hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation of Berhalter, who was hired as national team coach in December 2018.
Berhalter had said in a lengthy social media statement on Tuesday that a person had contacted the federation “saying that they had information about me that would ‘take me down.’”
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Berhalter, who made 44 appearances with the U.S. national team as a player over 12 years, called the ‘91 incident in which he kicked his then-girlfriend in the legs after a heated argument at a local bar “shameful.” He said there were “zero excuses” for his behavior and said he “voluntarily sought out counseling.” The two eventually reconciled and got married.
Danielle, who played at North Carolina and had a handful of appearances with the women’s national team, denied threatening Berhalter.
“I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts,” she said in her statement.
Danielle added that Berhalter’s comments about the ‘91 bar incident “significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question.”
“Rosalind Berhalter was my roommate, teammate and best friend, and I supported her through the trauma that followed,” she added.
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Gio Reyna, 20, a rising American star who plays for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, barely saw action during the four games the U.S. played in Qatar.
Without naming Reyna directly, Berhalter gave a speech at a leadership conference in New York in mid-December in which he revealed he almost sent home one of his players. Berhalter said the player was “clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field.”
Gio Reyna took to Instagram after Berhalter’s comments saying “that things that happen in a team setting ought to remain private.” But he said that after the coach’s shots at his professionalism and character, he felt the need to respond.
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He said Berhalter told him just before the World Cup that he would only have a limited role in the tournament. Gio Reyna said he was “devasted” by the news and admitted that he let his emotions get the best of him “for a few days.” He said he apologized to both his teammates and Berhalter.
Danielle admitted in her statement that she thought Berhalter had been “unfair” to Gio after her son had apologized for his immature behavior.
“Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age.”
Claudio Reyna, who also served as the first Sporting Director for New York City FC, released a statement in defense of his wife.
“I support my wife, Danielle, and her statement. I too was upset by Gregg’s comments about Gio after the U.S. was out of the World Cup, and I also appealed to Earnie Stewart on December 11 asking him to prevent any additional comments.
“While in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son’s World Cup experience with a number of close friends, Earnie and Brian McBride among them.”
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He denies that he ever threatened anyone.
Claudio Reyna, Stewart and Berhalter all played together on the U.S. national team in the ‘90s and 2000s.
U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday that Anthony Hudson will coach the men’s team on an interim basis for a pair of exhibitions at the end of January.
