US men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
US Soccer is investigating a decades-old incident involving Gregg Berhalter and his wife, which Berhalter says was attempted to bring down shortly after USMNT’s elimination from the World Cup.
In related statements on Tuesday US Soccer announced the investigationwhich is still ongoing, and Berhalter publicly in detail the incident for the first time. In 1991, a few months into his relationship with then-girlfriend Rosalind, he “kicked her in the legs” during what Berhalter called a “heated argument,” he revealed.
He detailed the incident and its aftermath, explaining how he and Rosalind broke up because an individual contacted US Soccer on December 11 in what Berhalter was “an apparent attempt to use something very personal from long ago to do to achieve the end of my relationship with US Soccer.”
Berhalter coached the USMNT from late 2018 until the 2022 World Cup. Berhalter’s contract expired on December 31 and discussions about his future as USMNT coach have been going on for weeks.
In his statement, Berhalter wrote that a few months after his relationship with Rosalind while she was a student at the University of North Carolina, they were “drinking at a local bar” when they “had a heated argument that continued outside.” It got physical and I kicked her in the legs,” Berhalter wrote.
“There are zero excuses for my actions that night; It was an embarrassing moment that I still regret to this day,” Berhalter continued. “I immediately apologized to Rosalind at the time, but understandably she didn’t want anything to do with me. I told my parents, family, and friends what had happened because I wanted to take full responsibility for my behavior. Rosalind also informed her parents, family and friends. Although the authorities were never involved in this matter, I voluntarily sought counseling to learn, grow and improve – one of the most valuable decisions I have ever made. To date, this type of behavior has never been repeated.”
The story goes on
Berhalter wrote that seven months later, Rosalind called him and they rekindled their relationship. Since then, they have lived together for almost three decades, raised four children and recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Berhalter called all of this “a story ours to own,” but wrote that “the time has now come for me to publicly share some personal information that a third party has used against my family and me.”
US Soccer said that immediately after learning of the allegation eight days after USMNT’s fall from the World Cup, it hired the law firm Alston & Bird to “conduct an independent investigation into the matter.”
Subsequently, “US Soccer learned of potentially inappropriate behavior towards several employees of our company from individuals outside of our organization,” the federation continued. “We take such behavior seriously and have expanded our investigation into these allegations.”
“We appreciate Gregg and Rosalind speaking openly about this incident,” the statement continued. “In line with our commitment to transparency, we will publicly announce the findings of the investigation once it is complete. US Soccer condemns violence of any kind and takes such allegations very seriously.”
Berhalter said in his statement that he and Rosalind fully cooperated in the investigation. “While we would prefer not to speak about something so personal from so long ago in such a public forum,” he wrote, “we appreciate this opportunity to share what has shaped us and how much we have learned over the years.” have grown from it and learned from it over the past 31 years.” The intent of the statement is to “provide transparency and reaffirm that a single bad decision a teenager makes doesn’t necessarily define them for the rest of their life.”
He also mentioned that he “looks forward to continuing my discussions with US Soccer about the future.”
With the first USMNT training camp of 2023 scheduled to begin later this month and two friendlies scheduled for Jan. 25 and 28, US Soccer said it “will announce who will lead [the training camp] in the coming days.”
There is no firm timeline for the investigation, which is likely to be completed before US Soccer and Berhalter make a final decision on his future.