Describing the state of the United States men's national team as messy or ugly would be an understatement thanks to the drama involving the Berhalters and the Reynas.
Danielle and Claudio Reyna, the parents of 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund and USMNT winger Gio Reyna, brought forth a 1991 domestic violence incident involving Gregg Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind Berhalter to U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart. The revelation coincided with the fact that Gio Reyna had a reduced role off the bench with Gregg Berhalter as coach of the USMNT during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The two families have had a strong ties in past as Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter were teammates and close friends when they played for the University of North Carolina. Gregg Berhalter played youth and high school ball with Claudio Reyna before attending UNC.
Berhalter on Tuesday said he went public with the information regarding his abusive night with Rosalind in 1991 because someone was trying to "take me down." That bond appeared to have gone down the drain in the past few months as U.S. Soccer launches an investigation into "potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization."
"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 Berhalter had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age," Danielle Reyna said in a statement to The Athletic. "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."
In Soccer We Trust hosts Jimmy Conrad and Heath Pearce, both former USMNT players who had very little overlap with Reyna and Berhalter, provided a unique perspective into the dynamics behind the scenes without holding back.
"It's not her place," Pearce said about Danielle Reyna. "It's not her place [to reveal that information]. Gregg Berhalter and his wife said that they grew from it, they learned from it, she wanted nothing to do with him and they built on that. I'm not excusing the decisions or the mistakes that he made, but it is not her place to bring that to light. And if it was, where was she two years ago?
"Where was she when Berhalter was playing [for the national team]? If she thought that he deserved nothing, then she should've spoke up for it then. But now she's doing it as an emotional mother who doesn't like the way her son was treated in a situation and thought that he deserved more grace."
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It's understandable that as parents they would do whatever is needed to protect their kid, but it comes off as an opportunistic moment. Pearce agrees that Berhalter should have never spoken out about Reyna's lack of commitment to the squad days after the World Cup elimination at a leadership summit. That alone made things messy. What transpired afterwards turned things from messy to ugly.
"When we heard about this happening in Qatar, I thought, 'well, Claudio didn't even play in his first World Cup'. He was on the '94 roster. He was the young guy and had to sit and watch," Conrad said. "Now, we can argue, sure, Gio is probably ready [and] deserves some minutes. But for Gregg during that time, maybe he just wasn't the right fit in the puzzle that he was trying to put together.
"If anybody knows how to deal with adversity at the highest level, Claudio and his wife should have been able to nurture that and say, 'hey, listen, this is just part of it.' This is part of the journey.
"He's got the best dad out there to manage this situation -- and a mom that has been through it as well. Not only did she get to play, but she also was around for when Claudio had his ups and downs. It's almost like they were egging him on to be more pissed off. Like, 'no, you deserve to be out there.' It's like the ultimate youth soccer parents."
This is a situation that could have ramifications moving forward and is also dredging up what was a dark moment from Rosalind's past not on her terms. While U.S. Soccer hopes to improve its hiring process in the future as a result of this investigation, there's certainly an easier way to do it. Conrad also points out that this could have an impact moving forward for everyone.
"I think that we've gotten to the point of no return," Conrad said. "I think that this move by Danielle Reyna, even though it could ruin some careers here, including her husband's, Claudio, it's going to damage it in some way. I don't know what Austin FC is going to do, I don't know if U.S. Soccer is going to want to work with Claudio, but it wasn't their place to say this."
As a current Austin FC sporting director, relationships are important and this is something that would bring Claudio's management of those relationships into question. Conrad also lamented the state of the national team with Berhalter out of contract but still in consideration for an extension, pending the results of the investigation.
"I think it's going to have its intended effect and it's sad because if you keep Gregg Berhalter moving forward, this is just going to follow it around. If Gregg remains the coach, I don't know if you can bring Gio in."
Check out the full discussion below:
