USA Football coach under investigation for domestic assault charge, alleges attempt made to blackmail
The United States Men’s football team coach Gregg Berhalter admitted that back when he and his wife were teenagers, he had kicked her on the legs after an argument. Berhalter revealed the incident in a statement when he said that someone with this information attempted to blackmail him during the World Cup.
Berhalter said, “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.
The information that was being used to attempt the blackmail, was that in 1991 when Berhalter and his wife were out, they had an argument that led to the US head coach kicking out at his wife.
“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. There are zero excuses for my actions that night; it was a shameful moment and one that I regret to this day. At that time, I immediately apologized to Rosalind, but understandably, she wanted nothing to do with me,” said Berhalter in his statement.
Seven months after the incident Berhalter reconciled with his wife and they have been married for 25 years now. US Soccer has responded to the statement immediately hiring legal counsel.
“Upon learning of the allegation against US Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter on Dec 11, 2022, US Soccer immediately hired Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the matter. Through this process, US Soccer has learned about potential inappropriate behaviour towards multiple members of our staff individuals outside of our organisation.
“We take such behaviour seriously and have expanded our investigation to include those allegations,” said their statement.
Berhalter’s contract with USA Soccer expired after the end of the World Cup and said that he fully cooperated with the investigation conducted the premier body of football in the USA.
