Derry Daily
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Features
  • Courts
  • Business
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Jobs
Saturday 13°CSunday 15°C

Derry Daily Derry Daily Derry Daily

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Features
  • Courts
  • Business
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Jobs
CourtsDerry CityNewsSoccerSport

Derry man accused of sexual misconduct while coaching US women’s football team

October 5, 2022
ShareTweet

Derry man Christy Holly accused of sexual misconduct at US women’s soccer team

A Derry man has been accused of sexual misconduct against a player while head coach at US women’s football team Racing Louisville FC.

Player Erin Simon has alleged coach Christy Holly touched her four months before he was sacked “for cause” in August 2021.

That is according to an independent investigation into abuse in women’s professional soccer across the United States.

The 172-page report by former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates on behalf of the US 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”.

The report focused on events concerning three coaches — Paul Riley, Rory Dames, and Christy Holly — to illustrate “the gravity and breadth of the misconduct” and “institutional failures” that perpetuated it.

Investigators said the National Women’s Soccer League (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.”

Mr Holly was hired in August 2020 to lead Louisville’s NWSL expansion club as its first coach.

The report states that on April 21, 2021, Mr Holly asked Ms Simon attend a game film session with him alone.

When she arrived, she recalled Holly opened his laptop and began the film. He told her he was going to touch her “for every pass [she] f***ed up.”

“She alleged that he pushed his hands down her pants and up her shirt. She tried to tightly cross her legs and push him away, laughing to avoid angering him. The video ended, and she left,” the report said.

Holly had risen from relative obscurity as a volunteer reserve team coach at Sky Blue Football Club to become the team’s Head Coach in 2016.

His tenure was short-lived, as his time was plagued with complaints of verbal abuse and mistreatment.

He was asked to leave the club abruptly, mid-season, because of his “verbal abuse” and his “relationship with a player”.

By 2018, he was doing limited contract work for USSF, including assistant coaching for the Under-17 and Under-23 teams.

The report said it found “no evidence” that anyone at USSF sought to determine the reason for his departure from Sky Blue or conducted any vetting prior to Holly’s work for USSF.

When Holly was hired by Racing Louisville as Head Coach, the team cited his experience with the national team as a source of “great confidence” in their decision.

The report said that although Racing Louisville stated publicly that it terminated him for cause, it declined to say more.

“Louisville has also declined to provide our investigation with any information concerning Holly’s employment, claiming that mutual non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements prevent them from providing any information at all about his tenure with the team,” it stated.

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

Mr Holly, Racing Louisville FC, the National Women’s Soccer League and US Soccer have yet to comment on the report.

Derry man accused of sexual misconduct while coaching US women’s football team was last modified: October 7th, 2022 by cassoscoop

Tags:
Christy HollyDerry CityDerry man accused of sexual misconduct while coaching US women’s football teamformer US Deputy Attorney General Sally YatesNational Women’s Soccer LeagueRacing Louisville FCUS Soccer Federation
ShareTweet

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

Derry City hit College boys for six

15 hours ago

Council awarded funding to tackle sticky issue

23 hours ago

Man sentenced to seven-and-a-half years over ‘savage’...

23 hours ago

Higgins: We need to improve our performance...

23 hours ago

Winter change times to recycling centres

24 hours ago

Norris welcomes extension of late-night bus to...

1 day ago

Durkan: Efforts needed to improve public transport

2 days ago

Police appeal wedding ring lost in Derry

2 days ago

Special commemoration to remember those lost in...

2 days ago

McLaughlin concerned at uncertain future of Midwife...

2 days ago

Keep in touch

Facebook Twitter Email

Features

  • DD Travel Feature: Cork’s amazing The Montenotte Hotel

    April 18, 2023
  • Derry cancer survivor Noeleen McMorris reveals importance of awareness

    July 25, 2022
  • Competition! Win tickets to Northern Ireland v England Women’s Euro 2022 match

    June 17, 2022
  • Glenapp Castle: Only a few miles from home but a million miles away

    December 20, 2021
  • DD Travel Feature: The Unsung Shores of Portugal

    November 12, 2021

Courts

  • Man sentenced to seven-and-a-half years over ‘savage’ attack

    September 29, 2023
  • Teenagers died from drowning despite ‘valiant efforts’ of friends, coroner finds

    September 27, 2023
  • British soldier accused of Daniel Hegarty’s killing dies

    September 26, 2023
  • Man in court over hit-and-run death of Ronan Wilson

    September 26, 2023
  • Ronan Wilson funeral details announced as man charged over hit-and-run death

    September 26, 2023

Donegal Daily

    Read More

    • News
    • Sport
    • Courts
    • Jobs
    • Features
    • Business
    • Politics

    Information

    • Contact Us
    • About
    • Advertise WIth Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    Derry Daily

    © 2023 Derry Daily. All rights reserved.


    Back To Top