US Soccer: Coach Berhalter hopes to stay amid investigation

United States coach Gregg Berhalter, who led the national team to the last 16 at the most recent World Cup, said Thursday he hopes to remain in the role amid a public feud with the family of Borussia Dortmund player Giovanni Reyna.

On Wednesday, Reyna's mother, Danielle Egan Reyna, revealed that she tipped off the US Soccer Federation to a decades-old domestic violence incident involving Berhalter. In a statement made to US sports broadcaster 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 and is simultaneously looking into behavior by the Reyna family.

"When we started in 2018, we wanted to change the way the world views American soccer," Berhalter, whose contract with the national team expired on December 31, said at a Harvard Business Review event on Thursday.

"And I think when you ask around the world now about our team, the world sees us in a complete different light. But now it's about being able to take that next step, and that next step is doing something that no U.S. team has ever done and that's get to the semifinals and see what happens from there.

"So there's a lot of great challenges involved and of course I'd like to continue my role."

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 shinguards in frustration after not being substituted on during the World Cup game against Wales. Reyna made just two appearances 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, Rosalind.

"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."

The American coach said the authorities never got involved and he sought counseling after the incident. The couple married seven months after the incident and have four children.

Danielle Reyna said Berhalter's statement "significantly minimizes 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."

The Reynas and Berhalters have much history together. Claudio Reyna, currently the general manager at Austin FC, and Gregg Berhalter were teammates in high school as well as on the US national team. Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter were also teammates at the University of North Carolina.

"I think the worst part of it for me is my heart aches for my wife because it was her story to tell if she chose to or not,'' Berhalter said at the Harvard Business Review event Thursday. "That's what just really saddens me."

What happens next?

In a statement on Wednesday, US Soccer said it was informed of the 1991 domestic violence incident involving Berhalter on December 11, after which the federation hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation. 

It also said that it was looking into "inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside the organization" — an apparent reference to Claudio Reyna's reported behavior.

US Soccer was reportedly in talks with Berhalter over a contract extension after the coach led the national team to the knockout rounds of the World Cup for the first time since 2014 — the US then lost to the Netherlands 4-1. The talks had since broken down once the allegations surfaced. US Soccer said assistant coach Anthony Hudson would lead the national team at its training camp in California on an interim basis.

Giovanni Reyna, meanwhile, has participated in midseason preparations with Borussia Dortmund, traveling with the team to Marbella for a training camp before the Bundesliga season gets back underway on January 21.

Edited by: Matt Pearson