It’s a new year and with a new season just around the corner, but Racing Louisville fans are still waiting to see how the club responds to the fallout from two recent reports that exposed deep systemic abuse in United States women’s soccer.
Specific to Racing, both reports — from former U.S. General Attorney Sally Q. Yates on behalf of U.S. Soccer in October and the NWSL/NWSL-PA in December — highlighted just how terrible Racing’s environment was under inaugural coach Christy Holly. In both reports and subsequent reporting by Tyler Greever of Louisville’s WHAS-11, former and current players have described a myriad of misconduct by Holly and his coaching staff including abusive language, sexual abuse, withholding treatment, retaliation, and more.
In the months since the Yates report was released, team leaders have made some apologies, some promises, and even some progress. However, they’ve failed to respond to everything reported and are still not fulfilling some of their major promises. As preseason looms, fans are justifiably questioning if the club will be ready for the upcoming season or capable of making the changes needed for the club’s culture to be as safe or healthy as it needs to be.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been promised, what’s been completed, and what’s still pending for Racing Louisville.
Some Progress…
Since the reports came out, Racing has released statements saying they would be hiring a general manager to take over control of the team’s day-to-day operations, hiring a new assistant coach to help with player development, starting an internal committee of club employees to interface with players and discuss concerns, and holding open forum meetings with community members.
A statement from Racing Louisville FC in response to the NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigative report:
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) December 15, 2022
Racing has made some progress in these areas. For example, they hired Bev Yanez, a veteran of the NWSL as both a player and coach, as the new assistant coach. She will provide the club with desperately needed NWSL-specific experience that has been lacking in the club for the past two years. She will also be Racing’s first full-time female coach for the senior team. As someone who understands what it’s like to not just be a female soccer player, but a player in the NWSL, she has the chance to serve as a critical bridge between players and other club staff.
The club…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NWSL Archives – Beautiful Game Network…