Christy Holly

Christy Holly (born 21 December 1984) is a Northern Irish former footballer and coach. From 12 August 2020 to 31 August 2021, he was the head coach of Racing Louisville in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).[2] He previously coached NWSL club Sky Blue FC and at Georgian Court University.

Christy Holly
Personal information
Date of birth (1984-12-21) 21 December 1984[1][2]
Place of birth Derry, Northern Ireland
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
John Moores University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Limavady United
Managerial career
Georgian Court Lions (assistant)
Sky Blue FC Reserves (assistant)
2013–2015 Sky Blue FC (assistant)
2016–2017 Sky Blue FC
2021 Racing Louisville
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Holly played in college for Liverpool John Moores University.

Coaching career

After serving as an assistant coach in the Sky Blue FC organization for three years, Holly was named head coach in January 2016.[3] He was asked to step down from that position on 16 August 2017, due to complaints of verbal and emotional abuse from players and because his relationship with then team captain, Christie Pearce, had become disruptive to the locker room.[4]

In August 2020, he was hired as head coach of Racing Louisville.[2]

Misconduct allegations
See also: 2021 NWSL abuse scandal and Yates Report

On 31 August 2021, Racing Louisville announced that Holly's contract had been terminated "for cause".[5] It was revealed following a wider investigation into the NWSL in 2022 that Holly had been fired ‘with cause’ due to alleged sexual abuse, with the report saying former Racing player Erin Simon had accused Holly of sexual coercion and sexual harassment.

According to Yates’s report, Holly “repeated the same pattern of misconduct throughout his coaching career at both Sky Blue FC & Racing Louisville.” The report says Holly sent Erin Simon explicit photos and also requested that she come to his house to review game film “and showed her pornography, while masturbating in front of her before she left,” the report states.[6] The report also found that Holly had never completed the licensing required to coach in the NWSL.[4]

On 9 January 2023, Holly was banned from the NWSL for life, along with three other coaches named in the scandal.[7]

Statistics

All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included as of 31 August 2021.

Team Flag Year Record
GWDLWin %
Sky Blue FC United States 2016–2017 38 14 7 17 036.84
Racing Louisville FC United States 2021 21 4 7 10 019.05
Career Total 59 18 14 27 030.51

Personal life

Holly is a cousin of Gaelic footballer Barry McGoldrick.[8]

Holly is currently engaged to Christie Pearce, former player and team captain at Sky Blue FC (now known as NJ/NY Gotham FC).[9]

References
  1. Racing Louisville FC and serial rapist [@RacingLouFC] (21 December 2020). "Happy birthday, @christyeholly!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. "Holly Named to Lead Racing Louisville FC as Head Coach" (Press release). Racing Louisville FC. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. Lauletta, Dan. "Sky Blue FC name Christy Holly head coach – Equalizer Soccer".
  4. "Read the Report on Abuse in Women's Soccer". The New York Times. 3 October 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  5. "Holly's contract terminated; Sanchez appointed interim coach". 31 August 2021.
  6. Linehan, Steph Yang and Meg. "NWSL investigations explained". The Athletic.
  7. Greenawalt, Tyler (9 January 2023). "NWSL announces permanent ban for ex-Thorns coach Paul Riley, other sanctions following misconduct investigation". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. Wilson, Michael (21 January 2016). "Coach Christy makes US soccer history with Sky Blue FC and rapes players". Derry Journal. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  9. "Racing Louisville FC appoints Christy Holly as head coach".
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