Investigation alleges ex-Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly sexually assaulted former player

Former Racing Louisville FC head coach Christy Holly has been accused of sexually assaulting a player during a film session four months before he was fired “for cause” in August 2021, according to an independent investigation into abuse in women’s professional soccer across the country published Monday.

The 172-page investigation, conducted by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates on behalf of the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), reveals “a league in which abuse and misconduct — verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct — had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims.” Investigators said the NWSL, its clubs and the USSF “failed to institute basic measures to prevent and address it, even as some leaders privately acknowledged the need for workplace protections.”

“As a result, abusive coaches moved from team to team, laundered by press releases thanking them for their service, and positive references from teams that minimized or even concealed misconduct,” investigators wrote. “Those at the NWSL and USSF in a position to correct the record stayed silent. And no one at the teams, the League, or the Federation demanded better of coaches.”

Holly, who was hired in 2020 to lead Louisville’s National Women’s Soccer League expansion club as its first coach, allegedly told former defender Erin Simon he would touch her “for every pass (she) f***** up” during a one-on-one film session on April 21, 2021, and “pushed his hands down her pants and up her shirt.”

Simon told investigators she “tried to tightly cross her legs and push him away, laughing to avoid angering him.” When the film session ended, Simon said she got a ride home from a teammate and “broke down crying.”

Christy Holly:Racing Louisville FC fires first head coach ‘for cause’

What we know:Why did Racing Louisville FC fire Christy Holly? What was he accused of?

That incident, according to the investigation, is part of a “pattern of misconduct” Holly allegedly engaged in during his time with Racing — “verbal and emotional abuse of players and a relationship with a staff member that caused problems.”

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When Simon joined the club from the Houston Dash through the 2020 NWSL expansion draft, she alleges Holly sent her sexually explicit photos/messages and “demanded that she do the same;” invited her to his house to watch film only to instead show her pornography and masturbate in front of her before she left; and “grabbed and groped her” in public but out of view, according to the investigation.

Simon told investigators Holly exhibited similar behavior when she was drafted by the club now known as NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2016. A year later, Holly was asked to resign during his second season at the helm amid what General Manager Tony Novo called “repeated and ongoing complaints by players regarding Holly’s verbal and emotional abuse.”

No criminal charges have been filed against Holly, who declined comment when reached by the Courier Journal on Monday.

Racing Louisville FC tweeted a three-sentence statement on Aug. 31, 2021, announcing Holly’s contract would be “terminated” but did not elaborate on the cause. Yates’ report says club executives interviewed Simon, assuring her Holly would be fired, as part of a “swift” investigation into the matter. The defender was later told by former club President Brad Estes that, when Holly was confronted about his conduct, the coach “identified Simon by name, threw his keys across the table, and left.”

When asked days later if Holly’s termination was linked to anything illegal, Racing’s Executive Vice President of Development, James O’Connor, said: “A great question. I don’t know whether I’d say illegal, I don’t know, that’s a subjective viewpoint, if you like. … I’ll plead the fifth. I’ll take the attorney line on that.”

Investigators said Racing “refused to produce documents” concerning the coach and “would not permit witnesses (even former employees) to answer relevant questions regarding Holly’s tenure, citing non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements it signed” with him. During an interview with Holly, investigators said they learned the club, “never attempted to modify those agreements with Holly to facilitate cooperation with our investigation.”

“As a result, Holly’s misconduct has remained largely unknown, including to anyone who might seek to employ him as a coach,” investigators wrote.

Racing Louisville FC did not immediately reply to an email and phone call seeking comment.

Simon, who played in 29 matches for Racing, joined England’s Leicester City of the Women’s Super League in July after being waived by Louisville. The defender agreed to have her name published in the investigation and told ESPN through a spokesperson she wants to do “everything in my power to ensure that no other player must experience what I did.”

“This report allows our voices to finally be heard and is the first step toward achieving the respectful workplace we all deserve,” Simon said in a statement. “It is my sincere hope that the pain we have all experienced and the change we have all brought about will be for the good of our league and this game we all deeply love.”

The USSF retained Yates and King & Spalding LLP to conduct the independent investigation in September 2021, after a report from The Athletic revealed sexual harassment and coercion allegations against Paul Riley, one of the winningest coaches in the NWSL, dating back 2015. Riley was fired as coach of the North Carolina Courage, and former NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird resigned in the wake of the report.

In addition to Holly and Riley, the investigation also focuses on former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames, who resigned from the club in November 2021 and had misconduct allegations dating as far back as 2014 surface in a report from The Washington Post the next day.

The NWSL and the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association are collaborating on a separate investigation that remained ongoing as of Monday. Yates and her team recommended the league “should determine whether discipline is warranted in light of these findings” and the findings of the joint investigation.

“As difficult as this report is to read, it has been even more painful for Players, whether known or unknown, to live it,” the NWSLPA said Monday in a statement. “We appreciate their efforts to seek the truth in support of our work to transform NWSL.”

Current NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said the league plans to “immediately” review the independent investigation and released the following statement:

“We greatly appreciate our players, staff and stakeholders’ cooperation with both investigations, especially during the ongoing season. We recognize the anxiety and mental strain that these pending investigations have caused and the trauma that many — including players and staff — are having to relive. We continue to admire their courage in coming forward to share their stories and influence all the changes necessary to keep moving our league forward. Establishing trust and confidence between the League, its players, and other key stakeholders remains a central focus for the NWSL, and we know that we must learn from and take responsibility for the painful lessons of the past in order to move the League into a better future. The findings and recommendations from both reports will be critical to informing and implementing systemic reform and ensuring that the NWSL is a league where players are supported, on and off the pitch, with safe and professional environments to train and compete.”

In response to the investigation, the United States Women’s National Team Players Association released the following statement:

“All Players and employees deserve to work in an environment free of discrimination, harassment, and abusive conduct. The USWNTPA commends the courage of the survivors, current Players, and former Players who came forward to speak out against abusive practices that have become far too normalized in the NSWL and women’s soccer generally. At the same time, USWNTPA is dismayed that some NWSL clubs and USSF staff impeded the investigation; those who have not done so should fully cooperate with the ongoing NWSL/NWSLPA investigation immediately.

“Finally, although it should not have taken an independent investigator to bring light to these practices and to recommend common sense reforms, USWNTPA urges USSF to implement the recommendations immediately, and it stands read to work with its partners at the NWSLPA, FIFPro, USSF, NWSL, and FIFA to prioritize Player safety across the sport.”

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Erin Simon accuses ex-NWSL coach Christy Holly of sexual assault: Report