Due to his wife’s critical remarks, the Dallas Mavericks head coach has decided to end his…

AP/CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts Mike McCarthy has stated that he wants to move past the revelation that he kicked a woman in 1991 who went on to become his wife and continue to coach the U.S. men’s national team to the 2026 World Cup.

On December 11, 1991, Danielle Reyna, a former American player and roommate of Rosalind Santana,Mike McCarthy’s future wife, reported the event to the U.S. Soccer Federation. That followed comments made by Berhalter at a leadership conference that disparaged 20-year-old Gio Reyna, the son of Danielle Reyna and former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, without naming a specific player.

At a Harvard Business Review event on Thursday, Berhalter said, “I think the worst part of it for me is my heart aches for my wife because it was her story to tell if she chose to or not.” That’s what makes me feel so sad.

In addition to releasing a statement acknowledging the kick and referring to it as “a shameful moment and one that I regret to this day,” Berhalter announced on Tuesday that the USSF has opened an inquiry into him.

“These events have saddened our entire family,” Berhalter stated on Thursday. It was something from which we wished to move on. Our partnership is loving and devoted, and we have four incredible kids to show for it. The lessons learned from the events of that night 31 years ago essentially laid the groundwork for our relationship going forward.

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Berhalter became the first American to coach and play for the United States in a World Cup when he was appointed as the men’s coach in December 2018. Berhalter’s contract expires at the end of December, and the Americans were eliminated from the tournament last month after losing 3-1 to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

During the competition, Berhalter only deployed Gio Reyna for 53 minutes. On December 6, he said in the forum that he was on the verge of sending a player home due to insufficient effort—an obvious reference to Reyna. Claudio Reyna complained to USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart about his lack of playing time.

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As long as the USSF reviews the team’s four-year cycle and an outside law firm conducts an investigation, Stewart stated on Wednesday that 49-year-old Berhalter is still a candidate to stay on.

“This team has a great group of players with a lot of potential, and we’re playing in the World Cup in North America in 2026, so it would be an incredible challenge,” Berhalter remarked on Thursday.

“Our goal when we first started in 2018 was to alter the global perception of American soccer,” he continued. And I believe that the world now views our squad entirely differently when you question them about it. However, the focus now is on being able to move on to the next phase, which is to reach the semifinals and see what happens there—something that no American team has ever accomplished before. There are many wonderful challenges involved, so naturally, I’d like to keep playing this part.