Yesterday, the American soccer world’s tea came to a full boil and the kettle was screaming after news broke that a soccer mom had soccer mom’d her way into trouble. The mom in question is Danielle Reyna, wife of former US men's national team captain Claudio and mother of current player Gio, who claims to have told U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart about the national team head coach Gregg Berhalter's past domestic violence incident. This was presumably in hopes of exposing Berhalter’s dark past and getting him cancelled expediently. Reyna allegedly did this because she was frustrated by comments made by the coach about her son following the team's ignominious elimination from the World Cup last month.
Apparently, Berhalter made some comments aimed at Gio when he spoke at the HOW Institute for Society's Summit on Moral Leadership in New York, saying, "a player" (unnamed) was nearly sent home from the World Cup for not meeting team expectations on and off the field. Now this wasn’t necessary information to share publicly, and as a head coach, Gregg (too many G’s in that name, already suspicious) should know better than to speak publicly on something so sensitive. But I’m sure he didn’t anticipate America’s loose cannon soccer mom coming through with 30 year old domestic violence allegations.
In defending himself, Berhalter released a lengthy statement on Twitter, saying,
"During the World Cup an individual contacted U.S. Soccer, saying that they had information about me that would 'take me down' - an apparent effort to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer. In the fall of 1991, I met my soulmate. I had just turned 18 and was a freshman in college when I met Rosalind. One night, while out drinking at a local bar, Rosalind and I had a heated argument that continued outside. It became physical and I kicked her in the legs."
Gregg Berhalter - USMNT head coach & former admitted leg kicker
In response, Danielle Reyna said,
"Without going into detail, the statements from yesterday significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question. Rosalind Berhalter was my roommate, teammate and best friend, and I supported her through the trauma that followed. 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."
Danielle Reyna - mother of a soccer player & potential career arsonist
As a general rule, I do my best not to get entrenched in the interfamilial drama of people I don’t know personally. But in this instance I’m unsure who I’m meant to feel sympathetic for and who is the real transgressor. Who’s the asshole? Who’s innocent? Or are things in life more nuanced than simple victim/villain narratives allow for? You be the judge.
Side Items
More L’s for Kevin McCarthy: The biggest loser in DC collected a few more humiliating defeats yesterday as house republicans made a fourth, fifth, and even a sixth failed try to agree on a speaker. After the sixth failed vote, the house adjourned and promised to return to the chamber later. At some point they’ll have to try nominating someone else, right? Congress can’t be officially sworn-in until a speaker is elected, so I’m sure George Santos the scamming congressman from Long Island is just praying his lies last another day or two. In other news, the man formerly known as the richest man in the world logged onto his social media site to share his opinion that, “Kevin McCarthy should be speaker”. Reminder: nobody asked you
Damar Hamlin Update: The 24 year old professional football player who suffered a terrifying injury while playing Monday night remains hospitalized in critical condition. According to the team, Hamlin is neurologically intact and is showing extremely positive signs toward recovery. Sadly, (as a non-medical expert) I’m skeptical that he’ll have a significant recovery after such a peculiar initial injury and such a long spell unresponsive. In the meantime, his fundraising page exceeded its $2,500 goal by a few million dollars after fans from around the world chipped in
No More Noncompetes?: The federal trade commission (FTC) proposed a new rule yesterday that would block companies in the US from limiting their employees’ ability to work for a rival. Studies show that noncompetes, which appear to directly affect roughly 20-45% of private-sector U.S. workers, hold down pay because job switching is one of the more reliable ways of securing a raise. We’ll keep an eye on these developments, but this could be a great start to a big year of labor changes