The involvement of the Reynas, which was first reported on Wednesday by ESPN, was all the more intriguing because of the tight relationship of the families, who are known to be close friends. Berhalter and Claudio Reyna played soccer together as kids in New Jersey, playing for a club team coached by Claudio’s father and the high school team at St. Benedict’s in Newark. The two were teammates at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and Reyna even served as the best man at Berhalter’s wedding, according to his biography on the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association website.
Rosalind Berhalter and Danielle Reyna were roommates and soccer teammates at the University of North Carolina.
In a statement on Wednesday, Danielle Reyna said she was the one who initially contacted Stewart on Dec. 11 about the bar incident, characterizing her actions as an effort to protect her son. She said she was “outraged and devastated” after Gregg Berhalter was quoted that day speaking at a leadership conference about a problematic player on the team who was nearly sent home during the World Cup for his poor attitude. Berhalter did not name the player, but it was widely, and correctly, assumed to be Reyna, who featured far less in the competition than expected.
Reyna, one of the team’s most promising players, released a statement on Dec. 12, the day after Berhalter’s comments were reported, admitting that he had reacted poorly to being told that he would receive limited playing time in Qatar and expressing disappointment that his coach had publicized the situation.
In her statement on Wednesday, Danielle Reyna said that Berhalter’s descriptions of the bar incident “significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question,” though she did not provide more detail. She added that she had reached out to Stewart, a longtime friend, “in confidence” and did not expect that her comments to him would trigger an investigation. And she said she had not asked for Berhalter to be fired.
“Rosalind Berhalter was my roommate, teammate and best friend, and I supported her through the trauma that followed,” Danielle Reyna said about the incident. “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.”
Claudio Reyna, in a statement, admitted that he had separately expressed frustration during the tournament regarding his son’s playing time to Stewart and General Manager Brian McBride, whom he referred to as friends.
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