CHICAGO, IL–It has been revealed by ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle that Danielle Reyna, wife of former US National Team captain Claudio Reyna and mother of National Team player had called US Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart about the 1991 domestic incident between US National Team coach Gregg Berhalter and his then girlfriend/now wife Rosalind.
The impetus for sending Stewart the information was comments Berhalter made on December 11th at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York where he mentioned how a player, purported to be Gio Reyna was nearly sent home from the World Cup in Qatar over his perceived lack of effort in training. Gio Reyna did not start a single match at this past World Cup and only 53 minutes total. His lack of playing time was a talking point during the World Cup for the USA.
Danielle Reyna said in a statement on Wednesday: “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.”
Claudio Reyna also sent multiple messages to USMNT general manager Brian McBride and Stewart during the World Cup, in which he said he shared his frustration about Gio’s World Cup experience.
Multiple sources told ESPN he threatened to share allegations about Berhalter’s past, but Reyna has denied those allegations.
“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,” he said in Wednesday’s statement.
The messages from Claudio began after his son, Gio Reyna, was informed he would have a limited role at the tournament.
Reyna, Stewart, McBride, and Berhalter were all teammates on the US National Team from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s.
In response to Berhalter’s characterization of the events, Danielle Reyna said, “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.”
On Wednesday, it was announced that assistant coach Anthony Hudson will lead the team during a January training camp in California in the lead up to a pair of friendlies against Serbia on January 25th at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, and then against Colombia three days later at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA. Both those matches will be on Warner Brothers Discovery Sports (formerly Turner Sports) platforms though distribution and how the matches will be broadcast has yet to be announced.
At the time of this post, a press conference was set for 4pm Central Time on Wednesday. We will provide details from this press conference at they become available. Berhalter’s contract with US Soccer expired on Saturday and a technical review of the team is ongoing in addition to the investigation into the 1991 incident.
