The U.S. men’s national soccer team has been mired in drama for much of the past month, culminating Wednesday with a shocking admission of domestic violence from coach Gregg Berhalter—forced by what he claims was a potentially career-ending blackmail incident by a longtime family friend just as his contract as manager of the team expired.
U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that Anthony Hudson, an assistant under Berhalter, will temporarily lead the men's team through January so the federation can conduct a “customary review” of the program.
That review will have a ton to unpack, nearly all of it with Berhalter at the center.
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Drama surrounding the beleaguered coach began the second he was hired. It took U.S. Soccer 15 months to select a new manager after its terrible showing in Trinidad and Tobago kept the team out of the 2018 World Cup—creating buzz that a splash hire was needed to resurrect the squad in time for Qatar.
Instead, the federation landed on Berhalter, an MLS manager whose brother happened to be U.S. Soccer’s chief commercial officer. That was in December 2018, and despite cries of nepotism the federation ultimately signed Berhalter to a four-year contract that expired this weekend.
During his tenure Berhalter had his fair share of headline-grabbing incidents—like pushing to host a winter World Cup qualifying match in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the opposing team's goalkeeper was pulled with hypothermia in 2-degree weather—but things reached a fever pitch last month following the team’s middling performance in Qatar.
Back stateside after being knocked out of the World Cup, Berhalter revealed at a leadership briefing that he nearly sent an unnamed squad member home from Qatar due to his “extreme” poor behavior at the tournament.
The country's soccer media landscape was sent into a frenzy when the comments leaked, and it was quickly uncovered that the player in question was Gio Reyna—the young U.S. rising star who was benched a majority of the tournament to the world's surprise (and his own, apparently, as Reyna was spotted hurling his shin pads after not playing in the tournament's opening match).
United States coach Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna during the FIFA World Cup.
Getty ImagesCritics lamented Berhalter for publicly making the comment at all.
Reyna, 20, responded in a statement saying he was “extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men’s team staff would contribute” to coverage of the ordeal, and that Berhalter “has always said that issues that arise with the team will stay ‘in house.’”
The entire situation ultimately reflected poorly on both Berhalter—for running his mouth at all—and on Reyna, for instigating locker room drama that made him look like a selfish player.
Lionel Messi hoisted the World Cup the following week and the upcoming holidays appeared to put an end to the whole ordeal.
Then, the relative lull exploded this Tuesday when Berhalter released a lengthy statement out of nowhere to say he was being blackmailed by someone who wanted him fired.
Part of the statement saw Berhalter admit that he kicked his wife, Rosalind, in the legs while they fought outside a bar as college freshmen back in 1991—an assault that went unreported for more than 30 years, but was now the centerpiece of an alleged blackmail plot against him.
U.S. Soccer released a statement Tuesday saying they were investigating the assault and alleged blackmailer, but said little more.
Then, on Wednesday, it emerged that the alleged blackmailers were actually Reyna's parents, former American soccer star Claudio and his wife Danielle.
The couple adamantly denied Berhalter's claims that he was being blackmailed.
Danielle did admit, however, that it was she who alerted U.S. Soccer to Berhalter's past assault. She said she made the call because she was upset with her son being admonished by a coach who didn't have a perfect past of his own.
Danielle said she relayed her knowledge of the assault to USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart, a call she made with no intentions to blackmail Berhalter—an old family friend and former teammate of her husband’s.
“I wanted to let him know that I was absolutely outraged and devastated that Gio had been put in such a terrible position, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the actions of someone my family had considered a friend for decades,” the statement read, reported the Washington Post.
Danielle also took a dig at Berhalter's characterization of his apparent assault, saying he'd “significantly minimized the abuse on the night in question.”
Danielle and Rosalind were roommates at the University of North Carolina at the time of Berhalter's alleged attack. Her husband, Claudio, is a former U.S. national team captain who was Berhalter’s teammate for their high school team and on two World Cup squads. Reyna was even Berhalter’s best man at his wedding.
Danielle said Rosalind was her “best friend,” and that she “supported her through the trauma that followed” her then-boyfriend's assault in college.
“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.”
In a statement of his own, Claudio said he supports his wife and that he was equally upset with Berhalter's comments about their son.
“I support my wife, Danielle, and her statement. I too was upset by Gregg’s comments about Gio after the U.S. was out of the World Cup, and I also appealed to Earnie Stewart on Dec. 11 asking him to prevent any additional comments,” the statement said.
Berhalter did not make a statement Wednesday in response to the Reyna's comments.
His future remains unclear following the recent drama.
U.S. Soccer said Wednesday that Hudson's appointment is temporary, and The Athletic reported his appointment likely has little bearing on whether the national team signs Berhalter to another contract or not.
Read it at US Soccer
