- U.S. Men’s National Teach coach Gregg Berhalter claims he was blackmailed over an incident in which he kicked his wife more than 30 years ago.
- Berhalter, who has coached U.S. Soccer since 2018, issued a statement on Tuesday saying that he was the subject of a blackmail attempt during the team’s World Cup berth in Qatar. He acknowledged that he kicked his now-wife, Rosalind, in an incident in 1991.
- “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,” Berhalter wrote. “This is a difficult step to take, but my wife, Rosalind, and I want to clearly and directly share the truth. This is a story that belongs to us, but hopefully there are lessons from our relationship that can be valuable to others.
