Gregg Berhalter incident was reported by Gio Reyna's mother
The mother of United States forward Gio Reyna informed U.S. Soccer of the 1991 domestic violence incident involving U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and his now-wife, Rosalind, Danielle Reyna said Wednesday in a statement emailed to FOX Sports.
Danielle Reyna (nee Egan), a former U.S. women’s national team player and wife of two-time U.S. World Cup captain Claudio Reyna, was roommates with Rosalind Berhalter (nee Santana) at the University of North Carolina, where the two won four national championships as teammates on the school’s women’s soccer team, at the time the altercation occurred.
The Berhalters went public with details of the incident Tuesday.
A day later, the Reynas gave their side of the story, with Danielle revealing she shared the incident with U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart during a conversation following comments Gregg Berhalter made about Gio Reyna during a leadership conference in New York three days after the Americans were eliminated from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Berhalter, without naming the player, later identified as Reyna, said he considered sending the 20-year-old home for his failure to accept a role as a substitute.
The relationship between Berhalter, Stewart and Claudio Reyna also goes back decades. The three were U.S. teammates in 1990s and 2000s, while Berhalter and the elder Reyna played high school soccer together at St. Benedict’s Prep in their native New Jersey.
"To set the record straight, I did call Earnie Stewart on December 11, just after the news broke that Gregg had made negative statements about my son Gio," Danielle Reyna wrote Wednesday. "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," her statement continued.
"Without going into detail, the statements from (Tuesday) 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 went on to say she didn’t intend U.S. Soccer to open an investigation into the incident between the Berhalters as a result of her disclosure. She also denied she threatened to report it before actually doing so, or that she sought to "bring about the end" of the coach’s "relationship with U.S. Soccer," as Berhalter had alleged.
"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," Danielle Reyna said. "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."
During a Zoom conference in which more than 200 media members participated later Wednesday, Stewart, U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone and USSF CEO JT Batson provided few additional details, citing the ongoing independent investigation into the matter being carried out the law firm Alston and Bird. That investigation includes the incident between the Berhalter and what U.S. Soccer called "potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside or our organization," Batson confirmed. He didn’t reveal the identity of those staffers or individuals.
Stewart said that he was "pleased" by the Americans run to the round of 16 in Qatar and that Berhalter, whose contract expired on Dec. 31, remains a candidate to continue as coach of the men’s national team, pending the outcome of Alston and Bird’s inquiry. A few hours earlier, U.S. Soccer announced that Anthony Hudson, one of Berhalter’s assistants at the World Cup, would lead the USMNT in friendlies against Serbia and Colombia later this month as the investigation continues. Hudson previously served as the head coach of New Zealand’s national team, the U.S. under 20 squad, and MLS side Colorado Rapids.
"I support my wife, Danielle, and her statement," Claudio Reyna wrote in a statement of his own. "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."
According to an ESPN report on Wednesday, Claudio Reyna threatened to reveal "sensitive details" about Berhalter's past to U.S. Soccer executives during the World Cup — those messages began after Berhalter informed Gio Reyna that he would play a limited role in Qatar, the report claimed. Reyna, a U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer who serves as the Sporting Director of MLS club Austin FC, denied that.
"While in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son's World Cup experience with a number of close friends, Earnie and [USMNT general manager] Brian McBride among them," Claudio Reyna said. "However, at no time did I ever threaten anyone, nor would I ever do so."
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
