Forward Gio Reyna’s mother, Danielle, said in a statement Wednesday that she was the one who informed U.S. Soccer of a domestic violence incident that occurred in 1991 between U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and his partner at the time, Rosalind, who is now his wife.
Danielle Reyna, then known as Danielle Egan, attended the University of North Carolina, where she was roommates with Rosalind Santana, who later married Berhalter. The two also played on the women’s soccer team together from 1991-94.
Gregg Berhalter shared the details of the incident in a statement posted to social media on Tuesday, and Danielle Reyna came out the following day and said she was the one who revealed what happened to U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart when the two were having a conversation about comments that Gregg Berhalter made about her son.
“Without going into detail, the statements from (Tuesday) 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,” Danielle Reyna said in her statement. “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.”
Gio Reyna didn’t respond well to his lack of playing time in the World Cup — he later apologized — and Danielle Reyna thought it was unfair her son was “still being dragged through the mud.”
She noted in her statement that the conversation with Stewart then pivoted to the domestic violence incident.
“I just wanted Earnie to help make sure that there would be no further unwarranted attacks on my son,” she said. “I thought our conversation would remain in confidence, and it didn’t occur to me at the time that anything I said could lead to an investigation.
“… I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts, nor have I ever had any discussions about anyone else on Gregg’s staff.”
Per Gregg Berhalter’s statement, during a night of drinking at a local bar while in college, the couple got into an argument that continued outside the establishment, and he ended up kicking Rosalind in the legs.
“There are zero excuses for my actions that night; it was a shameful moment and one that I regret to this day,” Gregg Berhalter said in the statement. “At that time, I immediately apologized to Rosalind, but understandably, she wanted nothing to do with me.”
U.S. Soccer has launched an ongoing investigation, and Anthony Hudson will coach the men’s national team during this month’s training camp and during friendlies against Serbia on Jan. 25 and Columbia on Jan. 28. Hudson served as an assistant coach during the World Cup in Qatar this past year.
“I’m sorry this information became public, and I regret that I played a role in something that could reopen wounds from the past,” Danielle Reyna said in her statement.
–Field Level Media
