A Marshall University football player has been arrested for attacking two gay men he saw kissing in public. He was also dismissed from the Marshall football team.
Steward Butler, a running back on the Thundering Herd football team, is?accused of attacking the couple on April 5, just moments after he saw them kissing in downtown Huntington, West Virginia.
According to police reports, Butler got out of a vehicle when he saw the couple,?shouted anti-gay slurs at them, and then punched each of them in the face with his fist.
Casey Williams, one of the victims, said:
?He called us faggots, queers, you name it.?We were trying to ignore him, but he jumped out of the car and came running up to us.?It was frightening, of course. What was going to happen? We were downtown in the city in the middle of the night. People are yelling that we’re gay. If they will hit you for being gay, are they also going to stab you for being gay??
Butler claims that he was acting in self-defense, saying the couple approached the car he was riding in with other members of the Marshall football team.
But video shot by the other victim,?Zack Johnson, disputes Butler’s claims of merely defending himself. Butler was charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery.
Marshall University President Gary G. White said the institution will not tolerate behavior such as Butler’s by any of its students:
?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.?
The case has also been referred to the FBI for an investigation of whether or not federal civil rights charges should brought against Butler.
