NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Three-time Team USA Olympic gold medalist women’s swimmer Nancy Hogshead has won a massive legal victory for athlete safety.
A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed a $250 million lawsuit filed against Hogshead by Rick Butler, a prominent junior volleyball coach accused of sexually abusing underage players. The lawsuit was filed in December 2021 by Butler and his wife Cheryl, targeting statements Hogshead made in 2017 and 2018 regarding allegations that Butler sexually abused teenage girls he coached in the 1980s.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Jenna Johnson, Nancy Hogshead, Carrie Steinseifer and Dara Torres of the United States celebrate victory in the women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games at Olympic Swim Stadium. (Porter Binks-USA TODAY NETWORK)
“For decades, Rick Butler talked his way out of the consequences that should have flowed from the findings that he sexually abused his younger athletes; he could be very persuasive. Although there was substantial evidence that would have allowed reasonable people to conclude that Rick Butler posed a serious danger to girls, it was difficult for families and society to accurately register that risk for all to see now.” Hogshead said in a statement to Pakinomist Digital.
The lawsuit alleged that Hogshead’s statements were part of a malicious attempt to destroy the couple’s volleyball business. But because Butler is a public figure, the court ruled that his defamation claims failed because he could not establish “actual malice.”
The judge’s ruling confirms that sports organizations, advocates, survivors, journalists and nonprofits have the legal right to present a record of abuse, even when the coach operates outside of a particular sports arena.
“Survivors whose coach is found to have sexually abused them deserve more than the abuser’s name posted in a little-known database at the US Center for SafeSport,” Hogshead added.
FORMER UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL STAR SAYS SJSU TRANS SCANDAL CAUSED INJURED FINGERS, SHATTERED DREAMS
Nancy Hogshead, senior director of advocacy for the Women’s Sports Foundation, attends the 40 For 40 event celebrating 40 years of Title IX at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2012. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
“The federal protections we have acquired for athletes are insufficient when the sports community does not proactively share their available records and evidence when they learn that a banned coach continues to have access to athletes. Disciplinary findings must be shared both broadly and targeted, as Champion women did here. We must deny addicts access to athletes. It is very disturbing that Rick Butler continues to train young girls today.”
Butler’s attorney Danielle D’Ambrose issued a statement to Sportico addressing the decision.
“While we respect the judicial process, we strongly disagree with aspects of the court’s decision and believe that significant factual and legal issues remain unresolved,” D’Ambrose said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead poses for a photo. (Courtesy of XX-XY Athletics)
U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim closed the case last week. He granted summary judgment to Hogshead, her nonprofit Champion Women and co-defendant Deborah DiMatteo.
The judge ruled that their advocacy was fully protected by the First Amendment. They were talking about an important issue of public interest: the danger Butler posed to young girls.
The judge ruled that Butler’s lost income was the natural consequence of his own documented sexual misconduct, not a conspiracy.
