Anyone have info on the Berhalter allegations?

[HuskyHawk]

Evidently the ties run deep

Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family: A timeline of events leading to U.S. Soccer investigation

The Berhalter and Reyna families go back a long way, but a rift between the families is at the center of a U.S. soccer firestorm

theathletic.com

 

[upstater]

Earnie Stewart looks pathetic. He didn't have the stones to sack Gregg straight up.

Stewart was really forced to do what he did given the sex scandal in women's soccer last year.

Anyone in Stewart's position would have or should have done the same thing.

Even Danielle Reyna acknowledges that and she doesn't blame him for pushing it up the chain.

I actually find what Reyna said about comparing Gio's request for forgiveness to Greg's to be plausible. I don't think she was using this as blackmail or whatever to fire him.

The whole thing in context seems like a series of unfortunate events, but in the end triggered by Berhalter's very curious decisions.

 

[Palatine]

How is it blackmail?

Black mail is demanding payment or a benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.

What is the payment or benefit that Mrs. Reyna was suppose to receive? It seems like she just wanted to hurt GB. She may have wanted to humiliate GB or get him fired. But that ain't blackmail. It's more like getting even.

 

[Chuck]

Bad look for the Reyna's. The excuses about "just venting" look like BS to me. They were at least trying to embarrass Berhalter. The sad thing is, I think this may make it harder to get rid of Berhalter. It will look like they allowed the Reynas to get him fired when his overall performance should have done that on its own (in my opinion).

Gio must be (or should be) mortified. He isn't much older than my kids. My son and daughter would never let me get involved in their playing time and they aren't international stars. They certainly wouldn't want me going to their ADs to bring up something that had nothing to do with coaching. He's making over $2mm per year. Doesn't he have an agent or PR team to act as the family proxy with less emotion? No matter what happens, I'd think his teammates aren't happy about any of this (or they find it humorous).

 

[upstater]

Bad look for the Reyna's. The excuses about "just venting" look like BS to me. They were at least trying to embarrass Berhalter. The sad thing is, I think this may make it harder to get rid of Berhalter. It will look like they allowed the Reynas to get him fired when his overall performance should have done that on its own (in my opinion).

Gio must be (or should be) mortified. He isn't much older than my kids. My son and daughter would never let me get involved in their playing time and they aren't international stars. They certainly wouldn't want me going to their ADs to bring up something that had nothing to do with coaching. He's making over $2mm per year. Doesn't he have an agent or PR team to act as the family proxy with less emotion? No matter what happens, I'd think his teammates aren't happy about any of this (or they find it humorous).

I don't know. It could be that they had a strategic plan... and that they were very bad on strategy.

I think her explanation is a lot more plausible.

They are all in tight with USSF. When Berhalter shamed Gio in public, I think her complaint to Stewart sounded like this: "Even after Gio asked for forgiveness and received it, it wasn't enough. Greg had to extract a pound of flesh. But when he was the same age and did something much worse [kicked his future wife], he received forgiveness."

I can see someone making a complaint like that to Stewart, who is Claudio's friend. Say whatever about the logic of such an argument, I just find it plausible that she made it in that context.

I don't know if Stewart immediately realized that she had said something that he HAD to push up the chain of command. Typically, when that happens, someone like Stewart would tell her right there and then that this was something he had to relay. She could then think about what she had just said.

It very well could have occurred to him after the fact (I know, I've been in these situations, and you don't always think of the possible implications immediately). But he still had to do it.

 

[Waquoit]

He HAD to relay 30 year old gossip about a man and his wife who have been married for decades, are still married and have a boatload of kids together?

 

[ZooCougar]

Bad look for the Reyna's. The excuses about "just venting" look like BS to me. They were at least trying to embarrass Berhalter. The sad thing is, I think this may make it harder to get rid of Berhalter. It will look like they allowed the Reynas to get him fired when his overall performance should have done that on its own (in my opinion).

Gio must be (or should be) mortified. He isn't much older than my kids. My son and daughter would never let me get involved in their playing time and they aren't international stars. They certainly wouldn't want me going to their ADs to bring up something that had nothing to do with coaching. He's making over $2mm per year. Doesn't he have an agent or PR team to act as the family proxy with less emotion? No matter what happens, I'd think his teammates aren't happy about any of this (or they find it humorous).

Why did Berhalter HAVE to drag Gio through the mud in his little Ted talk?

I guarantee you he did more than just “kick” his future wife. This violence is always downplayed. Always.

Gregg is a total jerk. The Reynas aren’t any better.

I want this entire 2002 USMNT mafia fired immediately. They are all too cozy with eachother and they don’t act responsibly. Get them out. Now.

 

[ZooCougar]

How is it blackmail?

Black mail is demanding payment or a benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.

What is the payment or benefit that Mrs. Reyna was suppose to receive? It seems like she just wanted to hurt GB. She may have wanted to humiliate GB or get him fired. But that ain't blackmail. It's more like getting even.

It’s not blackmail. That’s just Greggg trying to inflate whatever wrong was done to him.

 

[Chuck]

Why did Berhalter HAVE to drag Gio through the mud in his little Ted talk?

I guarantee you he did more than just “kick” his future wife. This violence is always downplayed. Always.

Gregg is a total jerk. The Reynas aren’t any better.

I want this entire 2002 USMNT mafia fired immediately. They are all too cozy with eachother and they don’t act responsibly. Get them out. Now.

I don’t see where I defended Berhalter. I think he did a bad job as coach, and the Reyna stuff was bush league. But I think the Reynas were just as bad. Did Berhalter continue to beat his wife? No idea. But Danielle only brought it up to avenge her son and only brought up an instance fro 30 years ago. And my fear is that US Soccer will now come to Greg’s defense after an investigation and renew him whereas they may have let him go.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don’t see where I defended Berhalter. I think he did a bad job as coach, and the Reyna stuff was bush league. But I think the Reynas were just as bad. Did Berhalter continue to beat his wife? No idea. But Danielle only brought it up to avenge her son and only brought up an instance fro 30 years ago. And my fear is that US Soccer will now come to Greg’s defense after an investigation and renew him whereas they may have let him go.

I have a strict no beating women and children rule. The Reynas are slinging mud but it and their motivation is garbage but it is real mud.

Berhalter shouldn’t be allowed to manage a semi pro team in Dubuque.

There is no way US Soccer lets him come back after the allegations that have gone down in Women’s soccer. I don’t even see how they let Earnie and Brian come back.

Time to flush the toilet.

 

[gtcam]

Reyna's - that says it all
Scumbags

 

[gtcam]

But in actuality that’s too simplistic and wrong. Danielle made the call, not Claudio. Greggg divulged inside info on “team stuff” that had no business being out in the open after the WC was over in his little TED talk. That’s just ridiculous. That’s what triggered Danielle to call on 11 Dec.

It’s a bad look for the Reynas but I hope Gregggg never manages anything worth damn again.

You think Claudio had nothing to do with it???
You know anything about his history?
I don't think so
Greg isn't coming back anyway - this whole thing is sour grapes and that is the description of the Reyna family - including the immature 19 yo who just doesn't get it and thinks he deserves privilege. A talented player who needs his head screwed on straight.
Your hate for Greg is borderline insane

 

[upstater]

You think Claudio had nothing to do with it???
You know anything about his history?
I don't think so
Greg isn't coming back anyway - this whole thing is sour grapes and that is the description of the Reyna family - including the immature 19 yo who just doesn't get it and thinks he deserves privilege. A talented player who needs his head screwed on straight.
Your hate for Greg is borderline insane

Before this news came out, former USMNT teammates of Berhalters were all taking Gio's side because they thought Berhalter was out of line.

Look, whoever is handling PR for US Soccer has done a masterful job of twisting the story, because the facts don't accord with the timeline. This didn't come out over complaints about playing time for Gio, since that was dead and buried with the end of the World Cup, and the Reynas hadn't even mentioned that. The ESPN story got it wrong too since neither Reyna or US Soccer has said they brought up the story prior to Berhalter's talk.

 

[meyers7]

You think Claudio had nothing to do with it???

With Danielle's calling Earnie? Probably not. Get the feeling mama bear did that on her own. Don't know if Claudio could even have stopped that one.

Gotta agree with @Chuck though, I doubt Gio is very happy with his parents "help".

 

[upstater]

With Danielle's calling Earnie? Probably not. Get the feeling mama bear did that on her own. Don't know if Claudio could even have stopped that one.

Gotta agree with @Chuck though, I doubt Gio is very happy with his parents "help".

I don't think the parents are happy with themselves either.

I say of course Claudio knew what his wife had to say to Stewart.

But it boggles my mind that anyone thinks that revelation would've gotten him fired. I don't think that's what this is about. I believe Greg's "talk" lead to hear making an argument (don't care to discuss the merits) about being forgiven for things you did as a young person. She was comparing Gio to Greg. That seems plausible. Stewart had to then take this info to the board. That's what happened here.

Claudio has denied making those threats while the team was in Qatar. Do I think Claudio was writing to friends inside US Soccer while they were in Qatar after hearing the whole fiasco with players being asked to castigate Gio in front of the team? Yes. But that's totally different than threatening to reveal any info. It just sounds preposterous.

 

[ZooCougar]

You think Claudio had nothing to do with it???
You know anything about his history?
I don't think so
Greg isn't coming back anyway - this whole thing is sour grapes and that is the description of the Reyna family - including the immature 19 yo who just doesn't get it and thinks he deserves privilege. A talented player who needs his head screwed on straight.
Your hate for Greg is borderline insane

Go snuggle with Garber you lackey.

 

[meyers7]

I don't think the parents are happy with themselves either.

I say of course Claudio knew what his wife had to say to Stewart.

But it boggles my mind that anyone thinks that revelation would've gotten him fired. I don't think that's what this is about. I believe Greg's "talk" lead to hear making an argument (don't care to discuss the merits) about being forgiven for things you did as a young person. She was comparing Gio to Greg. That seems plausible. Stewart had to then take this info to the board. That's what happened here.

Claudio has denied making those threats while the team was in Qatar. Do I think Claudio was writing to friends inside US Soccer while they were in Qatar after hearing the whole fiasco with players being asked to castigate Gio in front of the team? Yes. But that's totally different than threatening to reveal any info. It just sounds preposterous.

Heck, most of us had complaints against Gregg. If I had friends within USSF, damn straight I'd have been writing them while in Qatar and even before that.

 

[meyers7]

ESPN does a better job this time in explaining what happened.

The Berhalter-Reyna rift explained: What it means for U.S. Soccer going forward

After the revelations this week involving Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family, ESPN looks at what's next for those involved and the USMNT.

www.espn.com

 

[upstater]

ESPN does a better job this time in explaining what happened.

The Berhalter-Reyna rift explained: What it means for U.S. Soccer going forward

After the revelations this week involving Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family, ESPN looks at what's next for those involved and the USMNT.

www.espn.com

Yes, they got the timeline right this time. However, they left out the staging of the Reyna apology to the team. It's important context since it gives us some idea of what might've pissed off the Reynas.

 

[Sleepy]

It's disturbing to me that US Soccer was trending towards keeping Berhalter, according to that article, before this mess came out. If that was the case and Berhalter doesn't get re-hired, we may actually end up owing the Reynas for getting rid of him, no matter how ugly this whole situation is currently.

Now that we know that at some point afterwards they swung and missed with Zidane, who else might be a possibility? I'd really rather not have the USSF go through a whole year of an interim coach, don't interview anyone, and then hand the job to some flunky like Berhalter.

 

[upstater]

It's disturbing to me that US Soccer was trending towards keeping Berhalter, according to that article, before this mess came out. If that was the case and Berhalter doesn't get re-hired, we may actually end up owing the Reynas for getting rid of him, no matter how ugly this whole situation is currently.

Now that we know that at some point afterwards they swung and missed with Zidane, who else might be a possibility? I'd really rather not have the USSF go through a whole year of an interim coach, don't interview anyone, and then hand the job to some flunky like Berhalter.

I think the whole Reyna affair made it more likely that Berhalter is retained because US Soccer successfully spun it as a blackmail attempt.

 

[businesslawyer]

God, so many of you have such hate for Berhalter that you truly are missing how awful what Daniella Reyna did. I will be pleased if we find a better coach to replace Berhalter. While he didn’t have a bad three years in terms of the ultimate accomplishments, I’m not a fan of forcing a team to play the coach’s way instead of a way that fits the players better. But that kind of decision happens every day.

Here is the story: a grown up was so insistent on being a helicopter Mom to protect a successful pro soccer player young adult that she outed an incident THAT HER COLLEGE ROOMMATE, TEAMMATE, AND FRIEND ELECTED TO MOVE BEYOND that happened thirty years ago to hurt the long time friend who she didnt’ think treated her son fairly. I’m sorry, but even in this world what an incredibly awful, awful human being she must be.

I’m not going to blame Claudio until it’s clear he was a part of this. Gio handles himself pretty damn well (subsequent to practicing himself into the doghouse) and, if anyone cares to be fair, Berhalter got his team out of the first round despite this all going on.

But Daniella Reyna is an evil, evil person who risked ruining the life of a close friend to be a helicoptor mom. Of a grown up professional. That’s the story, whether it fits into your guys narrative or not.

 

[Palatine]

God, so many of you have such hate for Berhalter that you truly are missing how awful what Daniella Reyna did. I will be pleased if we find a better coach to replace Berhalter. While he didn’t have a bad three years in terms of the ultimate accomplishments, I’m not a fan of forcing a team to play the coach’s way instead of a way that fits the players better. But that kind of decision happens every day.

Here is the story: a grown up was so insistent on being a helicopter Mom to protect a successful pro soccer player young adult that she outed an incident THAT HER COLLEGE ROOMMATE, TEAMMATE, AND FRIEND ELECTED TO MOVE BEYOND that happened thirty years ago to hurt the long time friend who she didnt’ think treated her son fairly. I’m sorry, but even in this world what an incredibly awful, awful human being she must be.

I’m not going to blame Claudio until it’s clear he was a part of this. Gio handles himself pretty damn well (subsequent to practicing himself into the doghouse) and, if anyone cares to be fair, Berhalter got his team out of the first round despite this all going on.

But Daniella Reyna is an evil, evil person who risked ruining the life of a close friend to be a helicoptor mom. Of a grown up professional. That’s the story, whether it fits into your guys narrative or not.

No one cares about Mrs. Reyna. She is not the one who wasted the two years before the WC playing Zardes at striker instead figuring out what we had there and developing one. In fact, Berhalter didn't seem to understand that time was needed to develop chemistry between the pieces that would actually get playing time in the WC. His puzzling and ultimately costly decisions to start players without a chance in hell to help the team led to a squad incapable of finishing in the final third. And yes, his, IMHO, stupid decision to sit Gio versus Wales was a complete head scratcher.

No one except those involved knows the true situation between the Berhalters and Reynas. I don't give a darn about the soap opera. I just hope it speeds GB out the door. Not because of the soap opera, but because he wasted one of the most talented USMNT squads we have put on the pitch.

 

[Kolumbo]

No one cares about Mrs. Reyna. She is not the one who wasted the two years before the WC playing Zardes at striker instead figuring out what we had there and developing one. In fact, Berhalter didn't seem to understand that time was needed to develop chemistry between the pieces that would actually get playing time in the WC. His puzzling and ultimately costly decisions to start players without a chance in hell to help the team led to a squad incapable of finishing in the final third. And yes, his, IMHO, stupid decision to sit Gio versus Wales was a complete head scratcher.

No one except those involved knows the true situation between the Berhalters and Reynas. I don't give a darn about the soap opera. I just hope it speeds GB out the door. Not because of the soap opera, but because he wasted one of the most talented USMNT squads we have put on the pitch.

This thread was started with a huge image of the statement released by the USMNT about said allegations so I think it's fair to rail on Mrs. Reyna.

 

[businesslawyer]

No one cares about Mrs. Reyna. She is not the one who wasted the two years before the WC playing Zardes at striker instead figuring out what we had there and developing one. In fact, Berhalter didn't seem to understand that time was needed to develop chemistry between the pieces that would actually get playing time in the WC. His puzzling and ultimately costly decisions to start players without a chance in hell to help the team led to a squad incapable of finishing in the final third. And yes, his, IMHO, stupid decision to sit Gio versus Wales was a complete head scratcher.

No one except those involved knows the true situation between the Berhalters and Reynas. I don't give a darn about the soap opera. I just hope it speeds GB out the door. Not because of the soap opera, but because he wasted one of the most talented USMNT squads we have put on the pitch.

I am for finding a better coach. But the bottom line is despite the fact that you don't like him, Berhalter did not fail in his three years. If we said 3 years ago would a coach have done o.k. if he won a Gold Cup, won a Nations League, qualified for the World Cup, got us out of the first round and did all that while moving us to a much, much younger group of players who would almost all still be there when we host in 2026, the answe would have been yes.

I won't even point to the absurdity for you being critical for discussion a situation that was the focus of the post and discussion just because it isn't on your agenda. Talk about pre-Copernican.