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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andrew Joseph

U.S. Soccer’s report on the Gregg Berhalter-Gio Reyna scandal is an awful look for the Reyna family

The U.S. men’s national team is still without a full-time head coach, but it has taken a step in turning the page on (potentially former) head coach Gregg Berhalter. It’s just not great news for one of the program’s brightest talents either.

Back in January, the U.S. Soccer Federation was sent into disarray by a statement from Berhalter, who claimed he was being blackmailed over an alleged domestic violence incident from 1992 that involved his now-wife Rosalind. Berhalter admitted to kicking Rosalind when the two were 18 years old, but the incident was never reported to authorities. It turned out that the Reyna family — the parents of Borussia Dortmund forward Gio Reyna — brought the accusation to the federation’s attention after they were upset by Berhalter’s comments at a leadership conference.

As a result, the USSF launched an independent investigation into both the Berhalter incident and the Reyna “blackmail.” Those findings were released on Monday, and, well, it was not a good look for the Reyna family.

This is what the report found

The full report, which can be read here, detailed the behind-the-scenes conduct from Claudio and Danielle Reyna.

Claudio, a former USMNT player and now-ex-Austin FC sporting director, was outraged that Gio did not play in the USMNT’s World Cup opener against Wales. He texted then-USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart to voice that displeasure (NSFW language in the text).

And he had a similar message to USMNT GM Brian McBride.

Claudio was unwilling to participate in the investigation while Danielle spoke in two brief phone calls.

Berhalter told investigators that this was normal behavior from the Reyna family, particularly when things didn’t go Gio’s way.

Claudio also made sexist remarks about female referees in 2018.

Danielle, who initially claimed that she revealed the Berhalter incident because she was upset over the leadership conference remarks, was already looking to weaponize the alleged incident during the World Cup. She told a U.S. Soccer employee that she could ruin Berhalter with one phone call.

As for Berhalter’s conduct in 1992, the investigation couldn’t find evidence to contradict Berhalter’s description of events.

Danielle — who did not witness the incident in 1992 — told Stewart on Dec. 11 that “Gregg beat the living (expletive) out of [Rosalind] in a back alleyway.”

While Berhalter’s contract expired on Jan. 1, he still remains a candidate for the full-time job following this report. USMNT fans, however, had plenty of thoughts on the Reyna family going forward.

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