NEW YORK (AP) — Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate to stay on as the U.S. men’s national team coach after a report by a law firm determined he did not improperly withhold information about a 1992 domestic violence allegation involving the woman who later became his wife.
The report, released publicly Monday by the U.S. Soccer Federation, also concluded that Berhalter’s conduct “likely constituted the misdemeanor crime of assault on a female.”
Berhalter’s contract expired on Dec. 31 and Anthony Hudson, one of his assistants, was appointed interim coach on Jan. 4. The coaching decision will be made after a new sporting director is hired.
“Me and my wife, Rosalind, respect the process that U.S. Soccer went through,” Gregg Berhalter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Britain. “We look forward to what is next.”
“I’m open to all options,” he added. “It’s a job that interests me, and I’m keeping all options open.”
The firm Alston and Bird was retained after former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna and wife Danielle Egan Reyna, the parents of current American midfielder Gio Reyna, informed the USSF of the 1992 incident following the decision by Berhalter to use Gio Reyna sparingly at last year’s World Cup.
The firm concluded the Reynas were not guilty of extortion but said Claudio Reyna’s conduct might have violated provisions of FIFA’s code of ethics for conflicts of interest, protection of physical and mental integrity, and abuse of position.
Claudio Reyna resigned as technical director of Major League Soccer’s Austin team on Jan. 26.
The probe included interviews with 16 witnesses, but investigators said Claudio Reyna refused to be interviewed — an assertion he denied through his agent. It included details on the incident between Berhalter and the then-Rosalind Santana in January 1992 at a bar and nightclub in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Berhalter and Santana were students and Santana was a roommate of Danielle Egan, who went on to play for the U.S. women’s national team.
“Mr. and Mrs. Berhalter were both 18 years old and drinking alcohol on the night in question; they began to argue inside the bar; they left the bar together and continued to argue,” the report said. “Once outside, Mrs. Berhalter hit Mr. Berhalter in the face; Mr. Berhalter pushed her to the ground and kicked her twice; Mr. Berhalter was tackled by a passerby, not known to either of the Berhalters; and Mrs. Berhalter got up and left. No police report was filed; no complaint or arrest was made; and no medical attention was sought by Mrs. Berhalter.”
The report described the incident as “an isolated event, and we find no evidence to suggest that Mr. Berhalter has engaged in similar misconduct at any other time.”
“Based upon information obtained during the Investigation, we also found nothing to indicate that Mr. Berhalter improperly withheld the fact of the 1992 incident, or any other information, from U.S. Soccer at any time,” the report said. “There is no basis to conclude that employing Mr. Berhalter would create legal risks for an organization.”
The investigators said “Berhalter’s conduct during the 1992 incident likely constituted the misdemeanor crime of assault on a female” but added “Berhalter is not currently at risk of criminal prosecution for the 1992 incident because North Carolina imposes a two-year statute of limitations for misdemeanors.”
Claudio Reyna is a former teammate of Berhalter in high school and on the national team. The report said the Reyna parents had attempted to influence USSF decisions on their children as far back as 2016, “ranging from travel arrangements to the impact of on-pitch refereeing decisions.”
Brian McBride, the men’s team general manager until leaving Jan. 31, gave the investigators a text he received from Claudio Reyna — a former teammate — on Nov. 21 after Gio Reyna wasn’t used in the Americans’ opening 1-1 draw with Wales at the World Cup.
“Our entire family is disgusted, angry, and done with you guys,” the text said. “Don’t expect nice comments from anyone in our family about US Soccer. I’m being transparent to you not like the political clown show of the federation.”
