LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brooke Hendrix and Erin Simon are close.
They played together in England and got to do so again at Racing Louisville FC.
That’s where Hendrix tried to support her friend as an abusive culture trapped them both.
Hendrix said she knew former Racing head coach Christy Holly had sexually coerced Simon in the past.
“She called me and she was crying," Hendrix said. "She was really upset about it."
The report shows Holly groped Simon and sent her sexual messages while she trained under him in 2018 after they worked together at what was Sky Blue FC.
“I personally didn’t think it was going to stop in Louisville. I was very nervous for Erin,” Hendrix said.
In the period leading up to Louisville during what was supposed to be an one-on-one film session, Holly allegedly showed Simon explicit images at his home, inappropriately touched himself and forced her to touch him.
“I was just trying to help her and walk through it as much as I could. I don’t know how she went through that,” Hendrix said. “It is terrible.”
While it continued at Racing, Simon asked Hendrix to accompany her any time Holly asked her to come over. According to the report, he lived at the same apartment complex as the players.
“I didn’t know who to talk to,” Hendrix said. “They were all friends on the coaching staff and stuff, so I couldn’t really speak up to anyone. He had been basically falsifying my character."
The investigation described another private film session in a suite at Lynn Family Stadium. Hendrix helped Simon prepare to stop Holly’s advances, and then waited in the car.
The report alleges Holly then inappropriately touched Simon for every pass she messed up in the film.
“Knowing what was happening; I can’t even explain to you how much that killed me inside, knowing I didn’t do enough for my friend,” Hendrix said.
In the aftermath, Hendrix said the coach made examples of both her and Simon for mistreatment.
“For my ankle, I just had like an injury before and just wanted to make sure I was rehabbing it correctly,” she said, “He just got in my face and told me he couldn’t trust that I can play well. So he wasn't sure if he was going to start me or all this stuff."
And from that point, Hendrix said said she couldn't ask him about her injuries or treatment.
"He just has such a power trip. He controlled all the medical stuff by the end, him and the other coaches," she said. "And it was just insane, the amount of control he had over people: what they could and couldn't do, how he made you feel guilty and shameful for even asking for certain things."
Hendrix said three players eventually approached club leadership to represent the whole team’s concerns surrounding Holly.
“They’re just like, ‘No, he’s doing his job. He’s doing this.’ They didn’t really get anywhere. And we were never going to until this whole incident came out,” she said.
It’s how anyone learned what led to Holly being fired for cause, since Racing Louisville FC cited non-disclosure agreements with Holly and Simon's privacy as reasons for not explaining the decision.
“I do think the club could have done better and had a greater responsibility to protect the public,” Hendrix said. “You can’t just let someone walk freely after that, you can’t just cover it up for them.
She said it's possible to say what he did without who he did it to, and that he was able to walk away "free with nothing happening."
"And then there's so much speculation in the league of, 'Oh, he didn't do much, the players just got him fired.' So many lies and rumors are spread when the truth should have been what was first and foremost," Hendrix said.
WHAS11 has reached out to Racing Louisville FC for comment and have not heard back as of this writing.
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