Rutgers Softball Coach Faces Claims of Abuse

HUSBAND OF RUTGERS HEAD COACH KRISTEN BUTLER TOLD BUS FULL OF WOMEN THEY SMELLED LIKE “PERIOD BLOOD”

Several players from the Rutgers University softball team are claiming new head coach Kristen Butler, a former Florida State University standout and professional softball player has taken team punishment too far on many occasions according to a report this week.

NJ.com reported that the husband and wife coaching team of Butler and her husband Marcus Smith were both brought on by the university to try to turn around its struggling women’s softball program last year.

According to the report, here are just a few of the complaints made by current and former players:

• Seven players said the team was regularly punished for menial transgressions with conditioning drills that veered into abuse. Two players said Butler would even physically push players in the back to make them run faster in drills.
• Six players said they were physically abused at practice, including one drill in which they were intentionally hit by pitches thrown by assistant coach Brandon Duncan. During another drill, Butler hit rapid-fire ground balls at a player, striking her with the ball and leaving her scratched from diving, multiple players said.
• Five players said Smith invaded their privacy by confiscating their phones and viewing their screens without permission and made numerous inappropriate comments. In one alleged incident, he boarded the team’s bus and told the women it smelled like “period blood.”
• Seven players said Butler attempted to run out players she didn’t think were good enough from the previous coaching regime. She also possibly violated an NCAA rule when she attempted to revoke the scholarship of sophomore infielder Myah Moy and another player who ended up transferring, the two players said.

Read the full story here.