LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the league’s Player Association released their joint investigation Wednesday into the misconduct of several coaches back in 2021, including former Racing Louisville FC head coach Christy Holly.
Supporting findings of the former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates-led independent investigation into the NWSL and United States Soccer, this joint investigation states Holly engaged in sexual misconduct, particularly with former Racing defender Erin Simon by inappropriately touching her, sending sexual messages and retaliating against her when she resisted his advances.
The report also concluded he was verbally abusive and retaliated against players who spoke against him. Players and staff at both Sky Blue and Racing Louisville reported Holly was "verbally abusive and emotionally volatile" according to the investigation.
For Racing Louisville FC, the report concluded it did not properly vet Holly before hiring him, address player concerns regarding his conduct or share enough information once the club did decide to fire him for cause.
The report provides new details of the non-disclosure agreement between Racing Louisville and Holly. That agreement paid Holly $14,000 in severance and required a $5,000 payment if either of them broke that agreement.
While the club has claimed that the agreement was brought to mainly protect Simon, the report claims the non-disclosure agreement "was far more limiting on the club than what was necessary to protect her confidentiality."
Confidentiality was also an issue when players tried to make the club aware of various issues and were forced to meet with O'Connor, Holly and others.
According to the joint investigation, current Racing President James O'Connor said confidentiality "was at odds with the club’s culture of 'trust' and 'transparency.'" He told investigators it wasn't necessary in reporting unless it was regarding something "illegal or immoral."
“Players reported that by bringing players into a meeting with Holly, club management created a fear of retaliation which discouraged them from reporting further concerns,” according to the report.
The report also concluded there was no established process for sharing information about misconduct complaints between clubs, leagues and even U.S. Soccer.
Holly refused to comment according to the report, but was planning to until the Yates Report came out, according to the investigation.
The report states Racing Louisville FC also withheld key documents from the investigation until the Yates Report was released.
“This report clearly reflects how our league systemically failed to protect our players. On behalf of the Board and the league, let me first and foremost sincerely apologize to our players for those failures and missteps. They deserve, at a minimum, a safe and secure environment to participate at the highest level in a sport they love, and they have my unwavering commitment that delivering that change will remain a priority each and every day,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.
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