- Young US soccer star Gio Reyna saw limited playing time at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
- USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter later hinted that he nearly sent Reyna home for "not meeting expectations."
The US Men's National Team is embroiled in scandal mere weeks after returning home from the World Cup in Qatar.
US Soccer launched an investigation into head coach Gregg Berhalter in December after learning of a domestic violence incident involving himself and his now-wife that took place when they were 18 years old.
As news of the investigation became public on Tuesday, Berhalter took to Twitter to condemn the "apparent effort [by an individual] to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with US Soccer." Still, he offered details about the altercation with his then-girlfriend, admitting that "it became physical and I kicked her in the legs."
A day later, an aggrieved USMNT star's parents have reportedly admitted to disclosing the incident to US Soccer, which sparked the investigation in the first place, ESPN reported.
Danielle Reyna — a former US Women's National Team player in her own right — came forward with the information about Berhalter, she said in a statement Wednesday, out of frustration surrounding Berhalter's veiled comments about her son, current USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna, following the 2022 World Cup.
The 20-year-old Dortmund star was widely expected to play a significant role for the Stars and Stripes in Qatar. Instead, he was told ahead of the tournament that he'd see limited minutes on the field — a promise that came to fruition when Reyna made brief appearances in just two of the USMNT's four matches.
By his own admission, Reyna did not take the news of his benching particularly well, but he did not intend to speak about his frustrations publicly. His stance changed in early December, however, when Berhalter spoke at a leadership summit and shared that he nearly responded to "a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field" at the World Cup by buying him a plane ticket home.
"I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role," Reyna wrote in the caption of an Instagram post the following day. "I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I 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 US men's team staff would contribute to it," he added.
That's when Reyna's mother decided to intervene. In a statement published Wednesday, Danielle said she reached out to US Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart immediately after Berhalter made "negative statements about my son" at the HOW Institute for Society's Summit on Moral Leadership.
"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," she said, according to The Athletic.
Danielle — who was roommates and best friends with Berhalter's wife, Rosalind, during their time as teammates at UNC Chapel Hill — also claimed that Berhalter's Twitter statements from the day prior "significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question." Even still, she contends that she did not intend for her conversation with Stewart to spark an investigation and expected it "would remain in confidence."
"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, nor have I ever had any discussions about anyone else on Gregg's staff — I don't know any of the other coaches," Danielle said. "I did not communicate with anyone in US Soccer about this matter before December 11, and no one else in my family has made any statements to US Soccer regarding Gregg's past at all."
But her husband and Gio's father, former USMNT great Claudio Reyna, had made his own complaints about Berhalter to US Soccer officials. In a statement provided to ESPN, Claudio admitted to texting "a number of close friends, Earnie [Stewart] and [USMNT General Manager] Brian McBride among them," regarding his frustrations with his son's treatment and lack of playing time.
"However, at no time did I ever threaten anyone, nor would I ever do so," he added.
In addition to their connection through their wives, Claudio Reyna and Berhalter have been closely acquainted for nearly their entire lives, playing youth, high school, and national team soccer side-by-side. Claudio even served as best man at the Berhalters' wedding, per the USMNT Players' Association.
In his statement released Tuesday, Berhalter shared that he "sought counseling" in light of the incident with his wife and that the couple has "grown and learned from this over the past 31 years." While he lamented the "difficult step" of sharing his and his wife's story publicly, he added that he hopes "there are lessons from our relationship that can be valuable to others."
"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," Berhalter said. "We will not hide from this. We didn't then, and we won't now."
—Gregg Berhalter (@GreggBerhalter_) January 3, 2023