The soccer blackmail scandal highlights the worst elements of our culture
Zachary Faria
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Nepotism, entitlement, and cancel culture have become common toxins in the most prominent areas of American life. The scandal surrounding the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team perfectly illustrates all of these issues.
USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter, whose contract expired on Dec. 31, took to Twitter to allege that “an individual contacted U.S. Soccer” during the World Cup to blackmail him and the team. The blackmailing attempt revolved around an incident in 1991 when Berhalter was 18, where he kicked his girlfriend in the legs during a heated drunken argument.
PARENTS OF BENCHED US SOCCER STAR TRIED TO BLACKMAIL COACH INTO PLAYING SON AT WORLD CUP
Berhalter went on to apologize to her and, 31 years later, they are still together. They just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. And yet this is being dredged up from the past after 31 years in an attempt to keep Berhalter from retaining his job. It may even work.
Why did this story come to light? Because one player on the team, Gio Reyna, showed an “alarming lack of effort” in the lead-up to the World Cup and ended up riding the bench. Reyna threw tantrums after not being subbed in during a game, even though he was giving so little effort during training sessions that teammates thought he was nursing an injury, according to the Athletic. “The sources said that the situation became untenable and that it had to be addressed multiple times,” the Athletic reported.
And so, with Berhalter consigning Reyna to the bench, Reyna’s parents decided to get involved. They are (or were) lifelong friends with Berhalter and his wife, and so they knew about the kicking incident. All four were soccer players, and Reyna’s father was a member of the USMNT himself.
And so Reyna’s mother and father threw their “friends” under the bus, telling a story that wasn’t there’s to tell and forcing Berhalter’s wife into the spotlight, all because their son gave poor effort, had a terrible attitude, and was unsurprisingly benched. (Reyna’s mother made it even worse by claiming she was upset about people “trashing Gio on social media,” as if world-level athletes aren’t routinely subject to criticism on Twitter).
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The story is a perfect indictment of the United States’s worst elements today: the entitlement of Reyna and his parents, the idea that he should get favorable treatment just because of his name or be immune from criticism, and the idea that a 31-year-old incident that has clearly been resolved can and should end a man’s career.
National sports teams are supposed to be a reflection of a country’s best qualities. The USMNT should be a beacon of hard work, teamwork, and a drive for greatness. Instead, it is drowning in a scandal of entitlement, nepotism, and cancel culture. This entire circus is everything wrong with the U.S. and, in a way, it couldn’t be a more fitting tribute to the culture of self-importance being promoted by many today.