Giovanni Reyna’s mother is the person that made Gregg Berhalter finally admit publicly that he kicked his current wife in the past. The former United States national coach came out after accusations came to the American federation. They came from the address of Danielle Reyna, the mother of international Giovanni.
Berhalter is the subject of an investigation into unacceptable behaviour. The former international eventually came out himself with a violent incident from 1991, in which he kicked his current wife Rosalind after a heated argument. “It was embarrassing and to this day, such behaviour has never occurred again,” Berhalter admitted.
Berhalter came out after a person allegedly threatened to reveal the information during the World Cup. Now it turns out that it is Reyna’s mother. She spoke to sporting director Earnie Stewart on December 11, only after the World Cup. In a statement to The Athletic, Danielle Reyna, former roommate and teammate of Berhalter’s wife Rosalind, explains why she did that.
After the United States’ exit from the World Cup, Berhalter was critical of a player he did not name. American media soon concluded that it was about Reyna. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder was almost sent home for his behaviour in training and had to apologise to the rest of the group. The fact that Berhalter brought this out was not appreciated by the Reyna family.
“I wanted to let Earnie know I was furious about how Gio was portrayed in such a bad light. I personally felt betrayed by someone I had considered a friend of my family for decades,” Danielle Reyna told The Athletic. “I also thought it was unfair that Gio had to apologise for his behaviour, when at that age Gregg was forgiven for something much worse.”
According to Reyna’s mother, “Berhalter made the misconduct towards his current wife smaller than it really was in his statement. Rosalind was my roommate, teammate and best friend. I supported her as she suffered the trauma. It took her a long time to forgive Gregg.” Father Claudio Reyna also said that he was frustrated with Berhalter’s statements.
Finally, Danielle Reyna indicated that she did not give the information to Stewart to blackmail Berhalter. “No, I didn’t want him fired and I didn’t threaten anything. I don’t know anything about blackmail attempts either. I have not discussed this with anyone in the union. I am sorry that this information has become public and I am sorry that I played a part in opening wounds from the past,” she concluded.
