Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is a survivor of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or at https://www.thehotline.org/.
A day after U.S. Soccer revealed an investigation into a 1991 domestic violence incident involving Gregg Berhalter, ESPN reported that Claudio Reyna, a former USMNT captain and father of current player Gio Reyna, threatened to leak details of the incident in messages to executives.
Claudio and his wife, Danielle, reportedly spoke with an executive Dec. 11 about Berhalter’s 1991 incident with his now wife. It came in wake of the longtime coach, whose contract expired Dec. 31, speaking at a leadership conference that same month. Berhalter detailed how an unnamed player “was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field” during the World Cup, and they “were ready to book a plane ticket home, that’s how extreme it was.” Multiple reports indicated that the unnamed player was Gio.
A day later, Gio appeared to confirm this when he posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, stating he did apologize to his teammates and coaches for his behavior and “was told I was forgiven.”
“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,” Gio said. “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.”
Danielle released a statement to both The Athletic and Fox Sports on Wednesday, confirming she reported the incident following Berhalter’s comments after Qatar. She added to Fox Sports, “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.”
Claudio soon released a statement of his own, saying to Fox Sports he supports Danielle and her statement. He denied threatening anyone but did say he “was upset” with Berhalter’s comments about Gio when the U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup. He confirmed he “appealed to [U.S. Soccer sporting director] Earnie Stewart on December 11 asking him to prevent any additional comments.”
The statement continued, “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 detailed in a statement Tuesday that an incident occurred between him and his now wife, Rosalind, in 1991 when the two were dating. A heated argument while drinking at a bar escalated outside, and Berhalter kicked Rosalind in the legs. He described the moment as “shameful” and that there were “zero excuses.” Berhalter says he voluntarily entered counseling. The two separated for several months before meeting to discuss, deciding “to rebuild our relationship.”
The 49-year-old added that someone tried to “take [him] down” during the World Cup by using this incident to “bring the end to [his] relationship with U.S. Soccer.”
“The intention of this statement is to provide transparency and to reinforce that a single bad decision made by a teenager does not necessarily define him for the rest of his life,” he said. “We will not hide from this. We didn’t then, and we won’t now.”
U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday it “immediately hired” the law firm Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the matter. On Wednesday, it was announced assistant coach Anthony Hudson would lead USMNT during January camp.
The Reynas and Berhalters have a lengthy history, dating back to when Claudio and Gregg played youth soccer together. Danielle and Rosalind were college teammates at UNC.
