Reyna’s parents reveal Berhalter domestic violence incident
US national team coach Gregg Berhalter is embroiled in a public feud with the family of a star player. The mother of Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna has made a domestic violence claim against him despite family ties.
Danielle Egan Reyna, the mother of Borussia Dortmund player Giovanni Reyna, revealed on Wednesday that she tipped off the US Soccer Federation over a decades-old domestic violence incident involving national team coach Gregg Berhalter.
In a statement made to ESPN, Danielle Reyna said she was frustrated by comments Berhalter made about her son following the United States’ elimination from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
US Soccer opened an investigation into Berhalter in December. The national team coach is currently not under contract, his deal having expired at the end of 2022.
What did Berhalter say about Reyna?
On December 6, during the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York, Berhalter mentioned that he nearly sent “a player” home for “clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field.”
“As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that’s how extreme it was,” the 49-year-old coach said.
“What it came down to was, we’re going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we’re going to behave from here out. There aren’t going to be any more infractions. But the other thing we said to him was, you’re going to have to apologize to the group, but it’s going to have to say why you’re apologizing. It’s going to have to go deeper than just ‘Guys, I’m sorry.’ And I prepped the leadership group with this. I said, ‘OK, this guy’s going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.”
The remarks were later published in a newsletter by Charterworks, though Berhalter later said the comments were supposed to be off the record.
Reyna’s lack of playing time was a major topic for the US team in Qatar. Berhalter apparently told the 20-year-old, who missed long stretches leading up to the World Cup with various injuries, that the winger wouldn’t feature prominently at the tournament.
The Athletic reported that he showed “an alarming lack of intensity” during an exhibition match before the tournament and threw his shingaurds in frustration after not being substituted on during the US’ opening World Cup game against Wales. Reyna made just two appearences at the World Cup — a seven-minute cameo against England and 45 minutes against the Netherlands in the round of 16.
Though Berhalter didn’t mention Giovanni Reyna by name during the leadership conference, US media quickly discovered that the comments were referencing the Borussia Dortmund winger. Reyna confirmed that to be the case the next day,
“I hoped not to comment on matters at the World Cup. It is my belief that things that happen in a team setting ought to remain private. That being said, statements have been made that reflect on my professionalism and character, so I feel the need to make a brief statement,” Reyna wrote in an Instagram post.
“I am also a very emotional person, and 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. I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven.”
During the World Cup, Claudio Reyna, Gio’s father and a former US international, reportedly exchanged messages with US Soccer over his son’s limited role. ESPN reported Claudio Reyna also threatened to share the domestic violence allegations surrounding Berhalter, a claim that the 49-year-old has denied.
What is the domestic violence case against Berhalter?
In her statement to ESPN on Wednesday, Danielle Reyna said she “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.”
On Tuesday, Berhalter revealed in a statement on Twitter that an individual contacted him during the World Cup saying they “had information about me that would ‘take me down’ – an apparent effort to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer.”
Berhalter then explained the 1991 domestic violence incident in question, which involved him and his wife Rosalin.
“In the fall of 1991, I met my soulmate. I had just turned 18 and was a freshman in college when I met Rosalind,” Berhalter said. “One night, while out drinking at a local bar, Rosalind and I had a heated argument that continued outside. It became physical and I kicked her in the legs.”
