re: Independent Investigation on Berhalter released

Unless that agent’s response is cherry picked from a larger message, or it was responding to a pointed comment or question, I really think it’s strange for them to bring up the death of their son.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just trying to get across the point that because they suffered the loss of a child it caused them to become more protective/involved in their other children’s lives as a result, and boundaries started to blur. Which I could see being a result of losing a child.

Ok drama is over, time to move on

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“The only side of the story investigators chose to tell”

Claudio refused to meet with the investigators

Danielle changed her story several times

F them

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Yeah, it’s laughable. They dragged their feet for months to talk to investigators and then put out this bullshite response 6 hours after the report drops.

Also using their dead kid for sympathy points makes me nauseated.

Announce Bielsa

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After several attempts to speak with Mrs. Reyna, we had two brief calls with her on December 29th.
At the start of the first phone conversation, Mrs. Reyna made clear that she did not want to speak with us. We asked her if she and Mr. Reyna had a phone conversation with Mr. Stewart on December 11th at 7:28 p.m. In response, Mrs. Reyna told us, “I will not confirm anything.” She said she would not get involved because, as she explained, “I have cleaned my mind.”

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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. She explained that she had a phone conversation with Mr. Stewart and told him that “there was an incident our freshman year I had to deal with” involving Mr. and Mrs. Berhalter. We asked for details about the incident. She said: “There was a physical fight. I wasn’t there. I didn’t observe the fight.” She confirmed the fight was “between Gregg and his wife.” When we asked what actually happened, she said, “I didn’t observe it.” She explained that she had talked about it with Mrs. Berhalter when it happened, “but I don’t know who hit whom. I was told there was a fight – that was it.”

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Claudio and Danielle sound like they are perfect for one another.

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We made several attempts during January 2023 to interview Claudio Reyna. We were contacted on January 12th by an attorney representing the Reynas and, over the course of multiple phone calls and email messages, we attempted to negotiate dates to conduct an interview of Mr. Reyna and to conduct an additional interview of Mrs. Reyna. Their attorney expressed his desire to give us a “proffer” of information from his clients about the Investigation. After much back- and-forth, we indicated that we would agree to hear his “proffer” as long as he confirmed that any such “proffer” would be in addition to, and not in lieu of, our opportunity to interview the Reynas directly. We did not receive interview dates in response to our emails and, as a result, did not have a chance to speak with Mr. Reyna to get his perspective on issues (or to interview Mrs. Reyna another time to inquire about her claim in the January 4th public statement that the Berhalters’ description of the 1992 Incident “significantly minimized the abuse” that occurred).

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And, while not meeting the legal of definition of blackmail (because they never specified what (if anything) they wanted in return), Earnie Stewart got the gist.

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Mr. Stewart told the Reynas he would need to report this information to others at U.S. Soccer. In his interview, he informed us that the Reynas did not seem shocked to hear that he intended to report the allegation. He also confirmed that the Reynas did not walk back the allegation, nor did they ask him not to report it. Mr. Stewart explained that he believed the Reynas disclosed the allegation to him so that U.S. Soccer would not hire Mr. Berhalter for another term.

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Reyna’s effort in training (some of the best new info from the 40 page report imo)

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During our investigation, Mr. Stewart described to us concerns related to Gio Reyna’s performance during training in the days leading up the 2022 World Cup games. Mr. Stewart explained that coaches had concerns about Gio Reyna’s level of fitness for the first game because he was recovering from an injury. In addition, Mr. Stewart told us that Gio Reyna’s performance was poor during a scrimmage game because he “walk[ed] around, and mope[d] around the whole time.” Mr. Stewart said although it looked like he might still be injured, he mostly “seemed ticked off” and “did not appear to be trying at all.” Mr. Stewart told us that Mr. Berhalter talked to Gio Reyna after that scrimmage to inform him that his effort was not satisfactory, and he needed to “adjust his mentality.” However, Mr. Stewart said that Gio Reyna’s behavior continued for a couple of days of training even after the scrimmage and discussion with Mr. Berhalter. For example, Mr. Stewart said players were required to do sprints on training days after a scrimmage and “other guys were busting their tails doing the sprints” while “Gio didn’t do anything.” Mr. Stewart said this behavior continued after U.S. played in their first game at the 2022 World Cup.
Mr. Stewart said Gio Reyna’s behavior eventually led to a conversation among U.S. Soccer officials regarding whether Gio Reyna should be sent home. Mr. Stewart said Mr. Berhalter led the discussion and recapped the concerns relating to Gio Reyna’s performance and behavior. He asked for feedback from the coaching staff and their opinion on whether Gio Reyna should be sent home. Mr. Stewart said it was a balanced, objective conversation. Ultimately, at the end of the discussion Mr. Berhalter made the decision to let Gio Reyna stay at the 2022 World Cup. However, Mr. Stewart said that they determined next steps regarding how to deal with Gio Reyna’s behavior. First, Mr. Berhalter had another conversation with Gio Reyna to communicate to him that his current behavior was unacceptable. Second, Mr. Berhalter informed Gio Reyna of the level of effort expected from him. Third, Gio Reyna was required to apologize to his teammates. Finally, Gio Reyna was informed that if his unacceptable behavior continued then he would be sent home. Mr. Stewart said that there was no reason to send Gio Reyna home after this last conversation with him.

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Mr. Stewart told us that during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he and others received complaints via text message from Mr. Reyna. For example, Mr. Stewart received a text message from Mr. Reyna on November 21, 2022, after the USMNT’s first World Cup match against Wales, in which Gio Reyna did not play. Mr. Reyna texted Mr. Stewart: “What a complete and utter fricking joke. Our family is disgusted in case you are wondering. Disgusted at how a coach is allowed to never be challenged and do whatever he wants.” We also spoke with former U.S. Soccer General Manager of the USMNT Brian McBride. Mr. McBride told us that he received text messages from Mr. Reyna about Gio Reyna’s playing time and role on the USMNT. Mr. McBride said he began receiving the complaints when he assumed the General Manager role in January 2020.

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JFC

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Only one person here actually committed a crime. Would I hate for my parents to be all up in my business like this? Yeah sure, but I’d I hate it even more if my dad pushed me to the ground and started kicking me.

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It was 31 years ago. It was a very shitty thing to do, but it also has nothing to do with the present situation. The Reynas aren't especially shitty people because they're helicopter parents. They're especially shitty people because they thought using this piece of information to threaten and get what they want was a reasonable thing to do.

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Remember Gio apologized. He was punished by GGG and was forgiven by the players. The sins of the parents should not be reflected on him

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They should if they still negatively affect the team going forward. I don't think Gio should be cast aside yet... but only because of his talent.

With that said, you're naive as frick if you think he's just an innocent bystander in all of this.

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He obviously held a grudge too and purposefully held gio out if games.

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Stop.

Gregg literally called Gio up and played him for every camp that Gio was available for until the World Cup when it was clear that was injury/fitness related.