PicoBlog

If you haven’t been paying attention, last November the US NT manager Gregg Berhalter told Gio Reyna, a 20 year old rising star that plays for Dortmund that he wouldn’t be in the starting XI for the US’ first match against Wales.

Gio Reyna in turn proceeded to give an “alarming lack of effort” in training and a warm up game which then required him to apologize to his teammates or risk being sent home for being a distraction.

And this whole story is a twisting, turning road from that moment. Each next step a simple cause and effect from the last moment. At the time fans started to turn on Gregg Berhalter for not having one of his best players have more playing time, but as the story unfolds we learn that there is a serious and repeated actions from Gio Reyna’s parents that bring shame to the Reyna family and American soccer. Shame that spans not only the treatment of US Soccer from an aggrieved soccer parent, but shame that a sporting director of a professional club would make misogynist comments about female referees, and shame that fractures close friendships spanning 30 years. And when you think this is all over, the Reynas double down through their son’s agent and use the death of their son Jack to score sympathy points.

Let me explain…

Gio Reyna did not start in the USMNT first match against Wales at the World Cup. While he sat on the bench with the other substitutes, his parents Claudio and Danielle were sat in the stands apparently fuming at the treatment of their star boy. Later in the week, the parents of Gio Reyna had an hour long phone call with US Soccer Sporting Director Earnie Stewart where Danielle Reyna told Stewart of an altercation from 31 years ago between coach Gregg Berhalter and his wife, then girlfriend.

Danielle Reyna described an incident where “Gregg beat the living shit out of her in a back alleyway.” However, Danielle did not witness the incident, and while an incident of violence did occur it did not differ from public statements already made by Gregg and Rosalind Berhalter.

The investigation found no evidence to contradict what the Berhalter’s shared in their public statement from January. There is no evidence his now-wife, Rosalind, who was interviewed, suffered injury from the incident. And there is no evidence there has been repeated violence against his wife or any other party.

"Our interview and interactions with Mr. Berhalter during this Investigation...demonstrate that he acknowledges his culpability and his need to be accountable for his actions in January 1992. More critically, perhaps, the witnesses we interviewed confirmed that Mr. Berhalter acknowledged his culpability and his need to be accountable the day after the incident occurred in 1992.

"The witnesses further confirmed that Mr. Berhalter immediately self-reported the assault to his head coach at UNC the day after the 1992 Incident occurred, and, of his own accord, took steps to prevent it from happening again. As noted, we found no evidence to suggest that Mr. Berhalter engaged in similar behavior again."

I’m not here to defend what happened between Gregg and Rosalind Berhalter, but I am here to defend the fact that this is a private matter from 31 years ago that the couple has moved on from. To have your best friend (Danielle Reyna) air your dirty laundry in an attempt to influence your husband’s job is despicable.

That story then prompted Earnie Stewart to ask the USSF to open an independent investigation into the allegations of the Berhalter incident. The irony in all of this is that the report of that investigation from a few days ago was released, and nobody comes out looking as bad as the Reynas.

For instance, because of the investigation, we know that during the Wales match the Reynas were making their displeasure known.

Witnesses indicated that Mr. and Mrs. Reyna (also a former U.S. Women’s National Team player) attended the game along with friends and family members of many other players, and further indicated that the Reynas were dissatisfied with U.S. Soccer coaches and officials as a result of the game

Witnesses also informed us that, on separate occasions in the days that followed, Mr. and Mrs. Reyna each made a vague comment to U.S. Soccer officials suggesting they knew damaging information about Mr. Berhalter that U.S. Soccer did not know.

That may not meet the legal definition of blackmail, but they knew what they were doing.

The Wales match served as an inflection point for a close friendship between Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter.

Mr. Berhalter identified the Wales match as an inflection point in Mrs. Berhalter’s relationship with Mrs. Reyna. Before that match, he said, Mrs. Berhalter and Mrs. Reyna spoke on the phone daily. “They had talked every day for decades. And it ended immediately.” He said in the stands after the match, surrounded by the other families, “they didn’t speak.”

Before the call with Stewart, Claudio also made veiled threats to General Manager Brian McBride saying “you guys don’t even know what we know about Gregg”. Danielle Reyna also stated to an unnamed U.S. Soccer employee: “Once this tournament is over, I can make one phone call and give one interview, and his cool sneakers and bounce passes will be gone.”

Once and for all proving that Watke knows no bounds and Gregg’s shoes are indeed cool.

After the draw with Wales Claudio texted McBride: “Our entire family is disgusted, angry & done with you guys. Don’t expect nice comments from anyone in our family about US Soccer. I’m being transparent to you not like the political clown show of the federation.”

Well if Claudio Reyna is calling the hiring of Gregg Berhalter a “political clown show”, the report says Claudio recommended Gregg Berhalter as first choice for the job. If USSF is a clown show, Claudio Reyna is the leader of the circus.

Sadly, the story has barely even begun.

And I also have to say, at this point it should have been a null and void sporting issue where Gio Reyna made a mistake and apologized for it and the entire team moved on. But no… here we are months after the fact digging up dirt at the expense of innocent people and young professionals because parents wanted to exact revenge.

The report states:

"We asked Mrs. Reyna again if she had a phone call with Mr. Stewart in December to make a report about Mr. Berhalter. She told us: “I’m not saying I did that. I am not saying anything. I won’t confirm or deny that I made that allegation to Earnie.” We asked her if she was on the phone with Mr. Stewart in December, and she said, “I deny we were on a phone call.” We asked, then, if she was denying the she and Mr. Reyna had a phone call with Mr. Stewart, and she said, “Yes, I am denying this whole thing.” She then told us that she didn’t speak to Mr. Stewart about anything; that she did not remember; and that there is nothing else she could share with us. She closed by telling us that she had nothing else to say, and that “if you want to close it, you can close it.” The call ended.

Very shortly after the first call ended, Mrs. Reyna called back. She began the second call by saying, “I did say it,” in reference to the call with Mr. Stewart.

The original investigation was meant to bring clarity on the 1992 incident between the Berhalters, but the investigation then expanded scope to include inappropriate contact from outside individuals to USSF representatives.

The report reveals the Reynas “disclosed [information] at a time when it would be expected to discourage or otherwise influence the organization from offering a contract extension to Mr. Berhalter. Mr. Stewart explained during the Investigation that he believed the Reynas made this disclosure to him so that U.S. Soccer would not hire Mr. Berhalter for another term."

And if anyone at this point is saying “well Gregg Berhalter made the first wrong by not playing Gio”. No he didn’t. Gregg is accountable to being a manager and his job is to make decisions on the starting lineups and strategies to advance to the knockout rounds, and he did just that. It was his decision and his discretion as manager to not play Gio. You may not think Berhalter made the right sporting decisions, but he in no way made the wrong moral decisions.

Unfortunately there’s more.

As part of the investigation it was found dating back as far as 2017 Claudio Reyna has been making possibly inappropriate comments to US Soccer officials including a sexist remark regarding referees.

Mr. Reyna complained about a female referee in a match involving Gio Reyna. We obtained an email from Mr. Reyna in July 2018, in which Mr. Reyna stated, “Field, referee everything!! So embarrassing all the way around.” Mr. Reyna sent a follow-up email that stated: “And in all honest [sic] can we get real and have male refs for a game like this. Its embarrassing guys. What are we trying to prove? A game like this deserves bett[e]r attention.”

Come the fuck on. We are better than this. Claudio Reyna at the time was serving at the club level as Sporting Director of NYCFC. Disgusting.

The Professional Soccer Referee Association also made a statement regarding Claudio Reyna’s communications.

“Mr. Reyna’s sexist & misogynistic comments about female referees are deplorable. The PSRA considers his actions disqualifying for employment in MLS & beyond. MLS cannot provide a haven for Mr. Reyna’s opinions while also celebrating the quality & diversity of its own Officials.”

If that were the end of it it would be bad enough. Relationships ruined and professional careers tarnished. But that wasn’t enough for the Reynas. You see - as part of the investigation the Reynas were asked to take part in interviews over a two month period. The only response they got was the previously mentioned call between Danielle Reyna and investigators.

Claudio Reyna was unwilling to participate in the investigation; Danielle Reyna had two brief phone calls. They both made threats to U.S. Soccer employees about releasing damaging information about Gregg Berhalter’s past during the World Cup.

Six hours after the report was published, the Reynas seemingly found their voice through Gio Reyna’s agent with a complete non-apology:

US Soccer is a small community. Anyone who knows the Reynas know that they are kind, generous people who have devoted countless hours and energy to promoting US Soccer and to the welfare of so many fellow players, parents, coaches, administrators and others. They are also a tremendously loving family that was profoundly impacted by the terrible loss of their eldest son Jack to cancer in 2012 at the age of 13.

Claudio and Danielle acknowledge that they have said and done things in the heat of the moment that they regret, particularly the statement that triggered the US Soccer investigation. Gio acknowledges that, like countless players before, he showed too much disappointment when not selected to play at the World Cup.

That is only part of the story here, but the only side of the story that the investigators chose to tell. It is disheartening and grossly unfair to see the family turned into one-dimensional caricatures to progress a narrative that benefits others. Hopefully, as a US soccer community we are better than that.

Okay that is a lot to unpack but I have to start with the disgraceful use of their child’s death to score sympathy points. Look… I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that comes with a parent burying their child, especially as someone that has just become a father, but to even mention the death in a statement regarding completely separate independent behavior from a decade later makes it clear to me they are using Jack’s death to their advantage. That to me closes the case on what kind of people this story deals with. And I’m sorry but I’m done with having the gloves on when it comes to US Soccer.

The Reyna’s use of their son’s death to shield their reprehensible behavior is shocking and abominable.

Then let’s consider the part of their statement that asks for others to consider their side of the story. I’m sorry but you have had two fucking months to participate in the investigation and tell your story. You don’t get to try and revise history with your perspective now.

If they really believed in their final statement - that hopefully as a US soccer community we are better than that, maybe they should take their own advice.

I truly think the worst part in all of this is the people that are the most hurt. Gio Reyna - an innocent 20 year old player who is arguably the greatest talent the US has ever produced, and Gregg Berhalter’s wife Rosalind who had nothing to do with any of this before having her best friend publicly stab her in the back for petty revenge.

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