One month after it was eliminated in the World Cup, the U.S men’s national team has switched to a game where everybody loses. The Reyna and Berhalter families, who were extremely close for decades, are now caught in a painfully ugly dispute in which they keep trying to out-wrong each other. Careers and reputations could be shattered here, and that’s not nearly the worst of it.
A quick recap: Gregg Berhalter, the USMNT manager at the 2022 World Cup, was teammates with Claudio Reyna in high school and on the U.S. national team. Berhalter coached Claudio’s son Gio in Qatar, but he didn’t play Gio much, which upset millions of America’s self-proclaimed soccer experts and the Reyna family. Then Berhalter said publicly that Gio’s attitude and effort were so bad he nearly sent Gio home. Berhalter said this in a forum that he later claimed was off the record, an asinine defense. A national-team coach can’t rip a player in front of a group of strangers and expect it to stay quiet. This isn’t 1920.
Gio’s mother, Danielle, then told U.S. Soccer officials that when Berhalter was a freshman in college in 1991, he assaulted his now wife, Rosalind. U.S. Soccer decided to investigate. Berhalter issued a statement acknowledging he kicked Rosalind, subsequently got counseling and has “never repeated” the behavior.
There is a lot to process here, but the first and most important point is this one:
Whatever happened to Rosalind Berhalter on that night in 1991 is not the Reynas’ story to tell. Danielle Reyna has a right to feel however she feels—as a mother, as a friend, as a woman. She does not have a right to use a painful incident from Rosalind’s past as a weapon to defend her son. If Rosalind wanted this publicized, she could have done that. If the Reynas think Rosalind is in danger today—and there is no indication they do—then there are ways to protect her.
But what happened here is pretty clear: The Reynas thought Berhalter was being unfair to Gio, so they fired back, full blast, without much regard for how Rosalind might feel about it.
Rosalind Berhalter should not be forced to relive what happened in 1991. She should not have to explain it with her husband’s job on the line (Gregg Berhalter’s contract as USMNT manager expired and his future with the team is being evaluated). But there is no going back now.
Danielle Reyna released a statement saying, in part: “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. I’m sorry that this information became public.” This contradicts an ESPN report that Claudio Reyna threatened to go public with information about Gregg Berhalter’s past—which he later denied. But even if Danielle’s intent was to vent privately, when you go to your friend’s husband’s bosses and say he abused her, what do you think will happen?
U.S. Soccer had no choice but to investigate. We don’t know whether that investigation will uncover any other wrongdoing.
But it is also clear now that the USMNT needs a new manager. This is not because of what happened in 1991, and it’s not because of U.S. performance in Qatar. Berhalter’s contract is up, and U.S. Soccer has to ask: Is the USMNT better off moving forward with Gregg Berhalter as coach, or someone else?
It’s the same question U.S. Soccer has been asking for weeks. But the answer is clearer now. Berhalter broke trust with players when he publicly lambasted Gio Reyna. He had weeks to make amends with the Reynas and failed. Whoever is on the team in 2026— and Gio Reyna is likely to deserve a spot—some players will have to sit, tension will have to be managed, and feelings will have to be massaged. It will all happen under a much bigger media glare than this year, because the U.S. is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup.
There is no way that Gregg Berhalter is the best person to navigate that terrain. USMNT needs to move on from this drama. The Reynas and Berhalters do, too.
