Berhalter Investigation

Blackmail/Extortion?

Especially given his wife has forgiven him and been married to him for 30 years and have 4 kids together. I am not a fan of his at all but this is a bunch of bunk.

I’m going to take a stab and guess Claudio Reyna. Weren’t they high school teammates and best friends? If this happened in 1991, there obviously isn’t any video, so back then either you were there or you heard about it. If they were best friends, I would bet he talked to Claudio about the situation. It was buried in the past until he didn’t play his son. Now all of sudden this pops up.

“his contract ended 4 days ago at the same moment the buckeyes kicked their way out of the Nat'l Championship game. ”
🤣🤣🤣😂😆🤦🏻

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Where do you go from here if you’re US Soccer? Can’t imagine Gio could ever play for Berhalter again so makes you think he’s definitely out of a job since his contract expired.

I'm hearing it was actually his mother - Danielle Reyna, who made a phone call to her "close friend" Earnie Stewart

I have gotten requests for the full article since it is behind a paywall: See below...

theathletic.com/4057428/2023/01/04/gregg-berhalter-danielle-claudio-reyna-us-soccer/

Gio Reyna’s mother reported incident involving Gregg Berhalter and wife to US Soccer By Paul Tenorio

The information given to the U.S. Soccer Federation regarding a 1991 incident involving U.S. men’s national team World Cup coach Gregg Berhalter and his wife, Rosalind, originated from her college roommate Danielle Reyna, the mother of U.S. winger Gio Reyna, she said in a statement to The Athletic.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter told The Athletic that an ongoing investigation initiated in December by U.S. soccer was prompted by information shared by Reyna’s parents, Claudio and Danielle. Both provided statements to The Athletic on Wednesday morning confirming that a conversation Danielle had with U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart on Dec. 11 prompted the investigation.

Berhalter released a statement Tuesday detailing the incident, which occurred when he was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of North Carolina with Rosalind, who was then his girlfriend. In his statement, which was signed by Gregg and Rosalind, the Berhalters wrote that during a “heated argument” that spilled outside of a local bar, “it became physical and (Gregg) kicked her in the legs.” The incident was not reported to authorities, but Gregg Berhalter sought counseling and both Gregg and Rosalind told family and friends about the incident. Gregg and Rosalind, who have been married 25 years and have four children, said they were releasing the information because an “individual contacted U.S. Soccer” during the most recent World Cup saying “they had information about me that would ‘take me down’” in “an effort to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer.”

Danielle Reyna was a roommate and soccer teammate of Rosalind Berhalter at UNC.   “To set the record straight, I did call (U.S. Soccer sporting director) Earnie Stewart on December 11, just after the news broke that Gregg had made negative statements about my son Gio at a leadership conference,” Danielle Reyna said in a statement. “I have known Earnie for years and consider him to be a close friend. I wanted to let him know that I was absolutely outraged and devasted that Gio had been put in such a terrible position, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the actions of someone my family had considered a friend for decades.  “As part of that conversation, I told Earnie that I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age. Without going into detail, the statements from yesterday 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. It took a long time for me to forgive and accept Gregg afterward, but I worked hard to give him grace, and ultimately made both of them and their kids a huge part of my family’s life. I would have wanted and expected him to give the same grace to Gio. This is why the current situation is so very hurtful and hard.”

Danielle Reyna’s statement continues: “At the time I called Earnie, many people were trashing Gio on social media due to Gregg’s comments, and I didn’t know when or if this would stop. I just wanted Earnie to help make sure that there would be no further unwarranted attacks on my son. I thought our conversation would remain in confidence, and it didn’t occur to me at the time that anything I said could lead to an investigation. I’m not criticizing Earnie here.  

“I very much commend the recent efforts by U.S. Soccer to address abuse of women players, and I understand now he had an obligation to investigate what I shared. But 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, nor have I ever had any discussions about anyone else on Gregg’s staff — I don’t know any of the other coaches. I did not communicate with anyone in U.S. Soccer about this matter before December 11, and no one else in my family has made any statements to U.S. Soccer regarding Gregg’s past at all.

“I’m sorry that this information became public, and I regret that I played a role in something that could reopen wounds from the past.”  Gio Reyna’s father, U.S. soccer legend Claudio Reyna, who captained the USMNT at two World Cups, also issued a statement to The Athletic.  “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. However, at no time did I ever threaten anyone, nor would I ever do so.”

Berhalter and Claudio Reyna played soccer together growing up in New Jersey. Claudio’s father, Miguel, coached their club team and the two played high school soccer together at St. Benedict’s in Newark, N.J. They also played together on the 2002 U.S. World Cup squad. According to a website owned by the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association, the U.S. men’s soccer players’ union, Reyna served as the best man at the Berhalters’ wedding.  In a statement issued on Tuesday, U.S. Soccer said it learned of the incident involving Berhalter on Dec. 11 and “immediately hired Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the matter.” The investigation remains ongoing. The statement also said that during the course of the investigation, U.S. Soccer has “learned about potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization. We take such behavior seriously and have expanded our investigation to include those allegations.”

A spokesperson for U.S. Soccer declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.  Berhalter’s contract with U.S. Soccer ended on Dec. 31, 2022. In the statement, he said he is “looking forward to continuing my conversations with U.S. Soccer about the future.” U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that Anthony Hudson, an assistant coach, will lead the U.S. men’s national team for a pair of friendlies later this month. The saga adds to friction between the Reynas and Gregg Berhalter that began at the World Cup.

In Qatar, Gio Reyna was disappointed in his role with the U.S. team — he was not selected as a starter for the opening match against Wales — and did not train hard in training sessions leading up to and after the U.S.-Wales game. Reyna had multiple meetings with coaching staff due to these issues and eventually apologized to teammates for a lack of effort. He would go on to play as a substitute against England and against the Netherlands in the knockout stage.
Gregg Berhalter appeared to reference the Gio Reyna situation without naming the player at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York on Dec. 6, comments that were published in a Charter newsletter on Dec. 11. Later that day, after the comments went viral, Charter updated its newsletter with an editor’s note stating that Berhalter’s comments, “were at a gathering held under the Chatham House Rule and were not meant to be public, but were erroneously greenlit for publication by someone representing the event organizers.”

The Athletic reported that the player involved in the situation described by Berhalter was Gio Reyna, and Reyna and his agent released multiple statements in the hours and days that followed. First, Reyna’s agent released a statement to The Athletic saying, “Gio obviously did not have the experience anyone hoped for at the World Cup. The situation, relationships and interactions among parties are far more complicated than what has been reported. It is disappointing and disrespectful for certain parties to be commenting on private team matters publicly, especially when some do so without full knowledge of the facts and others do so in a self-serving manner. At this point, our view is that nothing more is gained by those associated with the national team turning on each other, and we plan no further comment on this matter.”

Reyna later posted on his Instagram, acknowledging that he, “let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior.”  The post continued, in part: “I am disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter (as well as some highly fictionalized versions of events) and extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men’s team staff would contribute to it. Coach Berhalter has always said that issues that arise with the team will stay “in house” so we can focus on team unity and progress. I love my team, I love representing my country, and I am focusing now only on improving and growing as a soccer player and a person. I hope that going forward each person involved in U.S. Soccer focuses only on what is in the best interest of the men’s national team so we can enjoy great success at the World Cup in 2026.”

That World Cup will be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Even the best of the best US players can have jerky parents.. the whole story is too bad. Coach Berhalter can’t be retained but Gio (and his parents) is forever tainted too. How does a new coach come in and handle Gio? Will he trust him and the family? If the family never meant to hurt Berhalter why bring up an incident from 30 years ago?

I think it’s great the federation doesn’t have to fire Gregg and pay him to not be the manager.

You actually believe it was a he should have known better conversation? I don’t. It will be interesting to see if they called Gregg on the phone and confronted him first before making said call “out of concern”. I don’t think anyone is dumb enough to send a text but I would bet they reached out to Greg first. He betta play or else! Funny thing is when Gio was put in after all that drama, he didn’t do a damn thing. I mean Gregg told him he would have a limited role and he kept his word. Then Little Gip threw a temper tantrum but wait can’t send him home because of the threat. I actually thing Gregg did an excellent job with what he was dealing with behind the scenes. People say Gio is the next coming but I would expect him to have more than 8 goals in his career when he isn’t watching from the stands because he is injured.

Anthony Hudson has been named head coach of the USMNT for the January camp: Wonder, what does this mean for Gregg Berhalter?

I read your article, it was touching but I don’t see who it relates to the topic. It also points out how his life is totally different from the average soccer player due to his Dad’s professional career. Kinda like he’s only 20 but his parents feel he’s entitled to play and are going to make a fuss about it. That’s great his brother is better than him so his Daddy can make him a homegrown player also or I guess he can go play in Argentina or Portugal……. A lot of athletes lose family members, Gio isn’t special in that regards. As far as the coach goes, you may have valid points but you are getting off tangent. The focus is on Mommy and Daddy’s actions. How would want to coach this team after this? Zidane was like no merci.

Is there any difference 🤔🤣.