UNITED STATES
Chicago Sun Times
May 24, 2018
By Jon Seidel and Michael O’Brien
The controversy swirling around suburban youth volleyball coach Rick Butler reached the nation’s capital this week, where a local congresswoman declared Butler “should have been in jail” after sexual abuse allegations first surfaced in the 1990s.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky made her comment during a hearing Wednesday held to examine the Olympic community’s ability to protect athletes from sexual abuse. The hearing took place across the street from the U.S. Capitol.
Among those to testify was Jamie Davis, CEO of USA Volleyball, who recounted the lifetime ban his organization recently handed Butler based on allegations Butler sexually abused players in the 1980s. Butler has denied the accusations.
But USA Volleyball had banned Butler once before — in 1995 — only to rescind the ban conditionally five years later. Schakowsky called his reinstatement “just shocking.”
“This really underscores the problem that has occurred over so many years,” Schakowsky said Wednesday. “Anyone in this room, I think certainly the women, know if someone has abused underage girls, reinstating him is so unacceptable. He should have been in jail. And now, in today’s world, I think he would have. I hope he would have.”
Schakowsky, a Democrat whose district spans Chicago’s North Side and several north suburbs, made her comment during the hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.