Fmr Marshall Football Star Arrested For Beating Gay Couple

Ex-Herd RB faces felony civil rights violations for attack on gay couple
NBC Sports | By John Taylor | May 30, 2015, 1:41 PM EDT

Not so unexpectedly, a former member of the Marshall football program is facing some very serious legal issues.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Marshall running back Steward Butler had been arrested and charged with battery in connection to the April beating of a same-sex couple. Butler allegedly became angry after witnessing the couple, two males, kissing. At the time, it was reported that the Huntington Police Department turned over evidence to the FBI for its review of any civil rights violations.

Saturday, the Associated Press reports, the former Herd player has been accused of two felony civil rights violations. The AP writes that “[t]he accusations against 23-year-old Steward Butler were contained in indictments unsealed Friday by a Cabell County [WV] grand jury.”

While “West Virginia’s civil rights law does not include protections on the basis of sexual orientation,” the Huntington Herald-Dispatch wrote, “[t]he indictment accuses Butler of violating the two men’s civil rights on the basis of their sex.”

In addition to the felony civil rights indictments, Butler was also indicted on two misdemeanor charges of battery.

A few hours after the reports of the assault first surfaced, Butler, who was the Herd’s second-leading rusher each of the last three seasons, was initially indefinitely suspended by and ultimately dismissed from the football program.

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UPDATE- Former Marshall University athlete indicted on felony civil rights charges
WOWK-TV | By Jessie Shafer | Posted: May 06, 2015 11:10 AM EDT Updated: May 30, 2015 5:17 PM EDT

Zackary Johnson, left, and Casey Williams, right, were allegedly attacked by dismissed Marshall University running back Steward Butler during a visit to Huntington, W.Va.​

HUNTINGTON, WV - UPDATE

Former Marshall University running back Steward Butler was indicted on felony civil rights charges.
Those charges come in addition to two misdemeanor battery charges he is already facing. Cell phone video shot by the victims in this case, Zackary Johnson and Casey Williams, shows the alleged attack.

Both men say Butler punched them and shouted gay-slurs at them.

Butler was dismissed from Marshall's football team in early May.

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UPDATE

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams made the following statement Thursday, May 7 to City Council members in regards to the investigation involving former Marshall University running back Steward Butler:

"The Huntington Police Department is engaged in an investigation regarding an alleged attack of two gay males in Huntington. Certainly, I trust the professionalism of the Huntington Police Department and await the details of their investigation.

In the meantime, we must be clear that intolerance will not be tolerated in Huntington. It does not reflect the values of our community. Violent attacks will not be tolerated. Bigoted behavior has no place in our community.

The City of Huntington, Huntington Police Department, Marshall University and the Marshall University Athletic Department have developed a cooperative and trusting relationship with one another. In the two and a half years I have been mayor, I have never experienced or observed a lack of cooperation, stonewalling or obstruction of any investigation.

I would trust that if any concerns of this nature were true, they would be brought to the police chief, who would, in turn, bring it to my attention."

UPDATE

Marshall University Interim President Gary White release the following statement in regards to Butler's arrest:

"The entire university community is shocked and disappointed to learn the details surrounding the alleged actions that led to Mr. Butler's arrest this morning.

"The type of violent, bigoted behavior reported to have been perpetrated by this student is not tolerated at Marshall University. Period. This is an extremely serious matter.

"We will allow the legal process to run its course and will act swiftly and appropriately within our Student Conduct System and according to the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities as more details become clear."

Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick also added:

"Marshall running back Steward Butler has been suspended indefinitely from all team-related activities as a result of recent charges filed against him. We take all accusations against our student-athletes seriously, especially those of such a sensitive nature. We hold all of our 350+ student-athletes to a high standard, on and off the playing surface, as ambassadors of Marshall University."

ORIGINAL

Officers with the Huntington Police Department said they have arrested a Marshall University football player.

Steward Butler is charged with two counts of battery after he attacked a same sex couple, officers said.

According to a criminal complaint released by the Cabell County, West Virginia magistrate's office Zackery Johnson and Casey Williams were walking in the area of 9th Street and 5th Avenue on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. The same-sex couple stopped and kissed.

Butler passed by the couple in a vehicle and shouted derogatory remarks about their sexual orientation. The vehicle then stopped and Butler got out. He punched at least one of the two men in the face with a closed fist.

Butler is a running back for the Herd.

We have crew working on this developing story and we will bring you the latest information as it becomes available on wowktv.com and during our news broadcasts.

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Marshall officials dispute website’s stonewalling claims
CharlestonDailyMail | By Marcus Constantino | Thursday May 7, 2015

Marshall University officials are disputing a report claiming school athletics staff “stonewalled” Huntington detectives during an investigation involving running back Steward Butler, but Athletic Director Mike Hamrick is conducting an internal review in response to the claims.

Huntington Detective Chris Sperry told The Daily Beast website that unidentified members of the Marshall football program were not cooperative with the investigation into Butler, who is accused of beating a gay couple he saw kissing on a street corner last month in Huntington.

The Daily Mail reported Butler, 23, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday morning and appeared before Cabell County Magistrate Darrell Black later that morning to face two charges of misdemeanor battery. He was released on $10,000 bond total, $5,000 for each charge.

One of the victims caught the alleged assault on video and shared it with investigators.

“(The football program) looked at the video and they definitely could tell who it was but they wouldn’t tell me,” Sperry told The Daily Beast, a popular news reporting and opinion website. “That’s the kind of cooperation I got there.”

The university responded in a statement Thursday evening, saying university officials were shown a screenshot from a video, not the video itself, by the investigating officer during the investigation, and that football staff members identified Butler as the individual in the screenshot.

“As of close of business today, Mr. Hamrick has found absolutely no evidence that anyone in the Athletic Department was shown the video in question prior to Mr. Butler’s arrest,” Marshall interim President Gary White said in a statement. “Furthermore, he has found no evidence that anyone in the department refused to cooperate fully with the investigation.

“Similar to my unequivocal statement yesterday regarding behaviors that are not tolerated at Marshall University, I will add that any confirmed cover-up or stonewalling of an investigation by any Marshall University officials would be considered an egregious breach of conduct an will be dealt with appropriately and swiftly, up to and including immediate dismissal.”

Butler allegedly jumped from a vehicle on April 5 and shouted derogatory slurs at the couple before punching them in the face with a closed fist, according to the criminal complaint against Butler. Sperry told The Daily Beast the driver of the vehicle then shouted for Butler to return to the car.

The Daily Beast reported Sperry was told by a Marshall football coach that the getaway driver was a Marshall graduate who “was getting ready to be drafted in the NFL.” The driver has not been identified.

“(The Marshall coaches) said he didn’t do anything and they wouldn’t tell me who he is,” Sperry told the Daily Beast.

Huntington police Chief Joe Ciccarelli said he had read The Daily Beast story but declined to comment on evidence in the investigation. When asked whether he knew about the allegations, he stated that Huntington police have always had cooperation from the university during investigations.

“We have a very good relationship with the athletic department,” Ciccarelli said. “To my knowledge, they’ve always been exceptionally cooperative. I’m not aware of any instance in this case or in any other case where they have been less than cooperative.

“If they were not, I would expect my officers would bring that to my attention,” Ciccarelli said.

Ciccarelli would not say whether he learned of the stonewalling allegations through The Daily Beast story or from Sperry.

“If any of my officers experienced issues like that with the Marshall University athletic department or anybody else, I expect them to bring that to my attention,” Ciccarelli said.

When asked if Sperry brought any complaints about stonewalling to him, Ciccarelli responded, “That’s my story right there.”

The university said in a statement that the Marshall Athletic Department was first notified by Huntington police that there was an ongoing investigation into an alleged attack shortly after the April 5 incident. Marshall University Police Chief James Terry was the first university official outside the athletic department to learn of the investigation when Huntington officers notified him on May 4. Terry then notified the university’s legal counsel and White, according to the statement.

Terry viewed the video at the Huntington Police Department on May 5, and Hamrick and Lisa Martin, director of Marshall’s Office of Student Conduct, viewed the video on May 6, according to the statement. Hamrick and Marshall head football coach Doc Holliday immediately decided to dismiss Butler after seeing the video, according to the statement.

“Based on what I know this evening, I have full confidence that all Marshall University officials have acted absolutely appropriately in this very serious matter,” White said in the statement. “I also have complete confidence in Mike Hamrick’s management of the Athletic Department and his commitment to integrity. We will settle for nothing less.”

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams released a statement about the stonewalling allegations Thursday evening. Williams said he trusts “the professionalism of the Huntington Police Department” and said intolerance and bigoted behavior has no place in Huntington. He said the city, Huntington police and Marshall have had a “cooperative and trusting” relationship during his two-and-a-half year tenure as mayor and said he’s never seen a lack of cooperation from Marshall.

“I would trust that if any concerns of this nature were true, they would be brought to the police chief, who would, in turn, bring it to my attention,” Williams said. He declined to discuss the lack of cooperation accusations further Thursday evening.

When reached by telephone Thursday afternoon, Sperry said he was instructed by his supervisor to no longer answer media inquiries about the charges against Butler.

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