Racing Louisville fired head coach Christy Holly “for cause” in August 2021, but revealed little else about why he was let go.
But on Monday, U.S. Soccer released Sally Yates’ full investigation into abuse in American women’s soccer, which revealed new and horrifying details about Holly’s abusive behavior while in charge in Louisville, and previously at Sky Blue FC.
Crucially, it also details the failure of the Racing Louisville organization to assist with Yates’ investigation, saying that it blocked current and former employees from speaking to investigators due to nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements signed with Holly.
The report contains a 30-page section on Holly alone, detailing abusive behavior that dated back to his time coaching Sky Blue FC from 2016 to 2017 after three years there as an assistant.
Holly was let go from Sky Blue due to “verbal abuse” and his “relationship with a player,” but those details were never made public and allowed him to be hired as Racing Louisville head coach in 2020, two years after U.S. Soccer hired him to work with the USWNT.
Holly’s abusive behavior in Louisville
The Yates report details a series of disturbing incidents between Holly and Erin Simon, at the time a player for Racing Louisville.
The report says Holly requested a one-on-one film session with Simon in April 2021. At that session, the report states Holly “told [Simon] he was going to touch her ‘for every pass [she] f––– up.’ He did.”
Holly “pushed his hands down her pants and up her shirt,” the report states.
“She tried to tightly cross her legs and push him away, laughing to avoid angering him,” the report continues. “The video ended, and she left. When her teammate picked her up to drive home, Simon broke down crying.”
Simon reported the incident to a team chaplain, who eventually informed Racing Louisville leadership.
After leadership was informed, Holly texted Simon: “I’ve been fired for an inappropriate relationship with you.”
But the Yates report states that because the true reason behind Holly’s termination was not made public, he could have potentially been hired by another team.
“As a result, Holly’s misconduct has remained largely unknown, including to anyone who might seek to employ him as a coach,” the report says.
[lawrence-related id=7920,7843,6795]