On Jan. 3, reports emerged over alleged threats Gregg Berhalter received during the World Cup. The claims were made public by Berhalter resulting from an incident that happened 31 years ago between Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind.
Berhalter alleged that someone had threatened to “take him down” in an effort to end his tenure as USMNT head coach.
However, on Wednesday, ESPN and The Athletic both reported that Claudio Reyna and his wife, Danielle, were the ones who were on a call with US Soccer to report the incident of domestic violence that happened between Berhalter and his wife.
Gio Reyna’s mother Danielle Reyna claims she threatened to release the information because she was frustrated with comments Berhalter made about her son, Gio Reyna, after the World Cup. Speaking at a conference, Berhalter aired criticisms of Gio Reyna and the stir he caused at the World Cup camp. At the World Cup, Reyna played minimal minutes despite having great talent. At first, it was injury concerns. Then, it came out that it was due to a lack of effort and failure to meet expectations.
However, before the tournament, Berhalter told Gio Reyna he would be on limited minutes. This frustrated the forward, who echoed his issues to his parents. His father, former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna, then made the past allegations against Gregg Berhalter known to US Soccer.
Claudio Reyna informs US Soccer of Gregg Berhalter allegations
Those with knowledge of the situation told ESPN that Claudio and Danielle Reyna spoke with an official from US Soccer that Berhalter had a past incident with domestic violence.
Now, in a statement made on Wednesday, Danielle Reyna defended her actions.
“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.”
Danielle Reyna added that she never used the information to threaten anyone. However, Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter were college roommates at the time of the domestic violence incident between Gregg and Rosalind. Danielle Reyna added that she thought Berhalter’s Twitter post Tuesday minimized the issue in question.
“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,” Danielle Reyna said. “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.”
Berhalter’s contract with US Soccer over, for now
Not only is this development a bad look for all involved, it comes at a peculiar time for US Soccer. With Berhalter’s contract recently expired, US Soccer opened an investigation into the coach.
For the time being, the federation named Anthony Hudson the interim head coach for the January camp.
US Soccer may not make any further decision on the future of Berhalter until its investigation concludes. However, this revelation regarding Claudio and Danielle Reyna certainly adds controversy to the situation.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Allstar
