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United States Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter is under investigation for alleged misconduct, per a statement put out by U.S. Soccer.
Statement from U.S. Soccer: pic.twitter.com/h2x5rgZvWA
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) January 3, 2023
“Through this process, U.S. Soccer has learned about potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization. We take such behavior seriously and have expanded our investigation to include those allegations,” said U.S. soccer in their statement.
Per the statement, U.S. Soccer has hired Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into these allegations. This investigation was launched on December 11th, just eight days after the United States World Cup elimination by the Netherlands.
Berhalter faced scrutiny at the World Cup, particularly for incidents surrounding Giovanni Reyna. The USMNT coach inexplicably benched Reyna, a regular starter, at the World Cup. The forward played only 52 minutes in Qatar.
Following the World Cup, Berhalter was speaking at a leadership summit. Believing he was off the record, Berhalter said a player was “clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field.”
The Athletic later reported that Berhalter was referring to Reyna, who had displayed a lack of effort in training. The article caused Reyna to release a statement via social media defending himself.
Berhalter’s Statement
Berhalter himself released a statement regarding the investigation, reportedly making a Twitter account to do so. The account is not yet verified. However, the statement was put out just 15 minutes before U.S. Soccer posted their statement.
— Gregg Berhalter (@GreggBerhalter_) January 3, 2023
In the statement, Berhalter acknowledges a past incident with his now wife, Rosalind. Berhalter admitted to assaulting his now wife in 1991. Following an argument at a bar, he kicked Rosalind in the legs. Berhalter referred to the incident as “a single, isolated event over three decades ago and a terrible decision made in a bad moment by an 18-year-old.”
Given Berhalter’s need for a statement, this incident is likely what led to U.S. Soccer’s investigation. It remains unclear if this is the only incident under investigation.
Berhalter’s contract expired on Saturday, New Year’s Eve. With the investigation, Berhalter’s retention at head coach remains unclear.
“With the review and investigation ongoing, U.S. Soccer will announce who will lead the January Men’s National Team camp in the coming days,” said U.S. Soccer.
