SI:AM | U.S. Soccer’s Big Mess

Plus, potential schedule solutions for the NFL.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Let’s break down all the drama surrounding the U.S. men’s national team right now.

In today’s SI:AM:

⚽ USMNT’s uncharted territory

📅 The NFL’s schedule options

⚾ Why Scott Rolen seems HOF-bound

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Chaos surrounding the USMNT

The story of the alleged blackmail plot against U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter took an unbelievable turn yesterday when the mother of a current USMNT player admitted she was the one who told U.S. Soccer about a 30-year-old domestic violence incident between Berhalter and his now wife, Rosalind.

On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer announced that it had enlisted an independent firm to investigate the incident. In a statement, Berhalter admitted to kicking Rosalind in the legs during an argument outside a bar while they were freshmen at the University of North Carolina in 1991. Berhalter, who was 18 at the time, said he sought counseling after the assault and had “zero excuses” for the “shameful moment.”

Berhalter said that during the World Cup, someone contacted U.S. Soccer claiming to have information that they said would “bring [him] down.” ESPN reported yesterday that it was the parents of current USMNT player Gio Reyna who told U.S. Soccer about the 1991 incident. After the story was published, Reyna’s mother, Danielle, said in a statement that she was the one who told the federation about the incident. She said that she told U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart about Berhalter’s actions in the wake of comments the coach made about her son at a leadership conference in New York. Berhalter said at the conference that he nearly sent a player home from the World Cup due to a lack of effort. The player was later revealed to be Reyna, whose infrequent and brief appearances for the U.S. during the World Cup came as a surprise.

Danielle Reyna said she was “absolutely outraged and devastated that Gio had been put in such a terrible position” and felt it was unfair that her son “was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age.” She added that she did not ask for Berhalter to be fired and did not think the conversation with Stewart would lead to an investigation.

The Reyna and Berhalter families have longstanding ties. Danielle Reyna (née Egan) and Rosalind Berhalter (née Santana) were teammates and roommates at UNC. Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna’s father, Claudio, were teammates in high school in New Jersey and with the U.S. national team. Reyna was the best man at Berhalter’s wedding.

Berhalter’s contract with U.S. Soccer expired at the end of the year, and the federation was already weighing whether it would bring him back to coach the team through the next World Cup cycle (culminating in the 2026 tournament that the U.S. will cohost with Mexico and Canada). These revelations complicate what was already a difficult evaluation process. Brian Straus writes that Berhalter’s tenure with the USMNT was a mixed bag, highlighted by winning the ’21 Gold Cup and three straight wins over Mexico but also marked by concerns over inflexible tactics and a lack of attacking strength. Does his success on the field outweigh the baggage now associated with him? Michael Rosenberg thinks U.S. Soccer should move in another direction, but only time will tell what the federation decides to do. Time is ticking, though, before the Gold Cup in June.

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• Tom Verducci looks at why Scott Rolen could become the first player in baseball history to receive less than 15% of the vote in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot and later be elected.
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• The Red Sox are reportedly signing Rafael Devers to the biggest contract in franchise history.
• Bobby Petrino will reportedly be the next offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

Fans are shelling out serious cash to watch TCU and Georgia face off in the national title game, with the average ticket price topping $1,000.

The top five...

… basketball plays I saw last night:

5. Ja Morant’s time-wasting against the Hornets.

4. Michael Duax’s putback at the buzzer to lift Northern Iowa over Valparaiso.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s assist on Grayson Allen’s game-winning three-pointer.

2. Saddiq Bey’s fadeaway three to beat the Warriors.

1. Georgetown sophomore Brandon Murray’s dunk of the year candidate.

SIQ

Former NHL player Mike Grier, who was born on this day in 1975, became the first Black general manager in league history when he was named GM by which team in July of last year?

• Sharks
• Kraken
• Golden Knights
• Devils

Yesterday’s SIQ: On this day in 1957, which MLB team became the first to purchase its own airplane?

• Cardinals
• Cubs
• Yankees
• Dodgers

Answer: Dodgers. Though they wouldn’t move to Los Angeles until a year later, the team spent more than $700,000 ($7.5 million today) to purchase a 44-seat Convair 440.

Though it was the first aircraft the Dodgers bought, it wasn’t their first team plane. In 1948 and ’49, they had a tiny five-seater used mostly by Dodgers president and general manager Branch Rickey. In ’49, Florida businessman Bud Holman, who was trying to convince the Dodgers to build their spring training facility in Vero Beach, gave Brooklyn team president Walter O’Malley a 20-seat DC-3, according to Ron Cervenka of Think Blue LA. But that plane was too small to transport the whole team at once, so the Dodgers upgraded.

The Convair 440 plane that the Dodgers bought had previously been owned by Eastern Air Lines. The Dodgers gave it a new paint job that included the team name on the side and the logo near the nose, although Eastern’s bird logo remained on the tail of the craft. Less than a year later, though, the plane was repainted again. When the Dodgers landed in Los Angeles on Oct. 23, 1957, before their move had been officially announced, the team plane already had “Los Angeles Dodgers” painted where it had once said Brooklyn.

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