OT: USA soccer (Reyna vs. Berhalter)
For those who care to know or just want to read the post, apparently some "Days of Our Lives" material is filtering out about USA soccer.
Cliff notes:
Gregg Berhalter is the national team coach. He played rising star Gio Reyna minimally during the recent World Cup due to concerns he held (from my understanding maturity). To add more layers, Berhalter and Claudio Reyna, and their families have a long history. Apparently the Reyna family has brought to light past spousal abuse regarding Berhalter to defend their son now. To provide light on the friendship Claudio (dad) and Berhalter grew up playing soccer together and the alleged incident includes both their wives who were roommates in college.
Curious to hear other fans weigh in.
(p.s.) Also I tried using the chain link to attach the article. So apologies if I didn't do it correctly.
January 5th, 2023 at 2:06 PM ^
Gio isn’t part if this and he is that good. He should have played. No reason to involve him in his parents alleged bad behavior. Every soccer talking head (all former coaches and players) was shocked he wasn’t playing.
The Berhalter story which he inexplicably shared publicly has some holes too. What is true is that Gio wasnt putting an all out effort in in practice. But does that justify benching a top player for the entire WC. That kind of thing usually lasts only until the players attitude changed. So why the full benching. And why does Berhalter need to cover his ass by sharing it publicly and saying he was going to be shipped home.
And how ironic is it that Berhalter is giving a talk on leadership, but by sharing his example (a private story about a discipline issue that from a leadership standpoint must stay within the team) he shows terrible leadership. Before all this other shit broke out he should have been fired for that alone.
January 5th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
It's professional sports. A coach can choose to call a player out publicly for any reason whatsoever if he thinks it's in their best interest. Whether you like it or not, it happens all the time.
One can have different opinions on Berhalter's coaching acumen or on how well he handled the issue as a coach, but the actions of Danielle Reyna kinda make you wonder just how bad Gio Reyna's attitude really has been.
I don't think you can isolate the kid from the actions of a parent who is acting on behalf of the kid. If the mom is willing to ruin lives/careers over her son's PT at this level..I doubt it's the first time the family has used its influence to advance his career. Personally I don't care if Reyna ever plays for the U.S. again.
And FWIW Reyna is only good compared to the crappy players the U.S. has had in the past. There will be more players at his and better levels going forward.
January 5th, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
I've ranted at-length about this on twitter so I'm *almost* burned out, but yeah this is HORRIBLE from the Reyna family.
The Gio shit was basically over (although I find it hard to believe a guy who whined and moped about being told he'd have a "limited role" can become truly elite -- legends fight; they don't break that easily), but now all of this. Blackmailing someone over something that happened OVER THIRTY YEARS AGO is not ok. I'm not condoning what happened, but Gregg and his wife had CLEARLY gotten over it as they got back together, got married, had 4 kids and are still together. Let's also not forget the fact that the original victim in all of this, Rosalind Berhalter, now has to relive the whole experience in some way or another.
If Danielle Reyna truly cared about this incident she would have reported it 30 years ago, or at least when Gregg got hired by US Soccer but all she did was weaponize it -- and for what?! This probably prevents Gregg from getting a new contract with the USMNT (which was obviously the goal), but how much long-term damage is this doing to her son's career? I wouldn't touch him at this point if I were a club manager. Promising youngsters are a dime-a-dozen (and you can probably find one who isn't made of paper, physically and mentally).
January 5th, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^
I can see you’re dug in here, but as I understand it (and this makes more sense) it wasn’t that she cared about the assault and that she did not try to weaponize it. Rather, she hid the Berhalter issue for 30 years because everyone forgave him and he certainly wouldn’t want it public. What brought it up, and we can certainly understand after 30 years of that how she might feel, was that she was pissed about Berhalter publicly embarrassed Gio. Why would a guy with his skeletons publically embarass her son for something so minor.
Second, she claims she didn’t weaponize it. It was a story she used to US Soccer when she complained about Gio’s treatment. Gio actually deserved an apology from Greg for sharing the story. The whole team did. She claims, and it makes sense, that she did not call for or want an investigation and she did not want this to become public.
My above comments are in response to narratives being shared which are either hearsay or false. I really don’t know the facts.
What I do know is that these different stories can be compared to the facts in an investigation. And the narrative she claims will be easy to support or refute.
More broadly, the questions being asked include:
What was the real timeline? Does this start Berhalter told the Gio disciplinary story or were there threats during the WC?
Does this go back even further and why was Gio really benched?
Was it blackmail for PT, payback because Berhalter embarrassed Gio, or a regrettable sharing of a story to solicit an apology that would have to be investigated and then someone shared with the press?
Was it just kicking or was it much worse?
January 6th, 2023 at 12:49 AM ^
It's not her story to tell, regardless of whatever you think her intentions were. She knew who she was "complaining" to and the effects it could have on Gregg.
January 6th, 2023 at 12:25 PM ^
Perhaps, but I don’t see it like that.
As a parallel, we’ve all seen or have been in these similar discussions where person A tries to take a high brow, holier than thou position about their ethics and leadership and person B calls out their BS based on person A’s past transgressions.
Now I agree, this specific 30 year old story was best kept in the bag. But anyone, as in this case, who decides to tout their ethics and leadership credentials by putting down another individual is fair game (at least in private discussions). Further, people who try to elevate their status by putting down others have no right to lead.
It still may turn out that the Reyna’s actions are worse than they claim if they happened to have made actual threats. We will see.
Berhalter is now taking the high road and no longer claiming he was threatened or blackmailed in anyway.
January 5th, 2023 at 10:19 AM ^
This situation is absolutely nutso. Even if it isn't technically blackmail (as the Reyna's legalese statements take great pains to argue), it is certainly petty and vengeful. GGG may not look great by virtue of airing team laundry in the way that he did. Just as Gio's mom most certainly knew her discussions would have the result they did (I don't buy for one second that she regrets bringing that to light. She re-opened 30yr old wounds for her previous friend), GGG must've known his speech comments would come to light. However, if Gio is going to want to be treated like a big boy, he needs to act like one and not a pouty baby if he isn't on the pitch, his subsequent statement doesn't even deny he was acting petulant, just excusing his behavior as a manifestation of his competitiveness.
The most striking thing is how closely they were previously. The dads having played youth travel soccer, then high school together, then national team, in each others' weddings. The wives were four year teammates and former roommates. And now, 31 years after the alleged incident, suddenly Mrs. Reyna feels compelled to bring it to light (after her "friend" has been married for 25yrs, has four kids and has clearly resolved whatever occurred). Trash move by the Reynas.
January 5th, 2023 at 12:41 PM ^
Just a terrible situation overall. I feel bad for all parties - just seems so pointless to lose a lifelong friendship over this.
- GGG shouldn't have said anything at the summit, however, in his defense - this was a leadership summit that was supposed to be off the record. Now, nothing is never actually off the record - but I could see in his mind giving what he thought was an example of how to deal with a tough situation, etc. etc. Still, bet he regrets saying anything.
- Reyna's - never should have said anything to Earnie Stewart or anyone in USSF. Even if you think you're just talking to your friend - by nature of their position, you KNOW this is going to get out. (Backdrop is that USSF had all their issues with the NWSL and toxic coaches, etc. that any allegation of domestic assault would HAVE to be investigated.)
- USSF - stop being so incestious. So many people from the 90s, early 2000s, have major roles within the organization and within the mainstream media that this type of drama is almost inevitable. Earnie Stewart, Brian McBride, Eric Wynalda, Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Gregg Berhalter, Alexi Lalas - and on and on. Surely there are other soccer brains in this country that were not part of the USMNT in the 90s. (This also goes back to many fans' original GGG apprehension given that his brother was basically the one in charge of doing the hiring).
As to Gio, I don't think this HELPS him, but I also don't think it really is detrimental either. There are no accounts suggesting he was a part of this plot - and, lets be honest, it's not like a young athlete upset by lack of playing time is all to rare. He's too good to keep off the USMNT - I am sure he will be back.
All things considered, if there was to be a scandal - now is the best time since one can argue there won't be any competitive USMNT soccer games for...2 years? At least? By that point, this will all be a footnote, hopefully...
January 5th, 2023 at 12:43 PM ^
This is all just so...... soccer....
January 5th, 2023 at 12:56 PM ^
This is one of the craziest sports stories in a while. A professional player's mom brings an accusation from the 90s to light because a coach is being "unfair" to her son? As someone who doesn't follow soccer or the US national team I think the Reyna family looks petty and vengeful here.
January 5th, 2023 at 2:40 PM ^
If it's not Ted Lasso then I don't care.