Marshall's Steward Butler dismissed, charged with assault of same-sex couple

Tess Quinlan | USA TODAY Sports

Marshall dismissed running back Steward Butler on Wednesday after a battery charge for allegedly assaulting a same-sex couple.

Butler was arrested, charged with two counts of battery and released on a $10,000 bond.

According to a criminal complaint relayed to USA TODAY Sports by Huntington, W.Va., chief of police Joe Ciccarelli, the incident occurred on April 5 in downtown Huntington, when the two male victims exchanged a kiss on the street. Butler was a passenger in a vehicle that was driving by and stopped. He exited the car and began shouting derogatory comments about their sexual orientation.

According to the complaint, Butler then hit both victims with a closed fist.

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

"We take all accusations against our student-athletes seriously, especially those of such a sensitive nature," director of athletics Mike Hamrick said in a statement.

Ciccarelli said the FBI is conducting a hate crime inquiry related to the incident.

Assistant special agent in charge Raymond Duda told USA TODAY Sports that the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, which covers West Virginia, was informed recently of the allegations by a Huntington police detective.

"We take allegations like this very seriously. The information was recently provided to us. We have initiated an inquiry into it," Duda said. "The results of our initial look will determine whether a case is open and whether it is provided to the U.S. Attorney's office down in Charleston."

Butler, a redshirt junior, appeared in 12 games for Marshall last season and was the Thundering Herd's second-leading rusher with 795 yards.