Former Butler athletic trainer accused of abusing female athletes in federal lawsuit

INDIANAPOLIS — Three Butler University women’s soccer players filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging the team’s former athletic trainer sexually assaulted and groomed multiple players on the team.

Michael Howell allegedly committed the assaults and other sexual misconduct over several years, the lawsuit said.

The alleged acts occurred in Butler’s training room, offices, buses and in Howell’s private hotel rooms during away games, the complaint said. They occurred while Howell was under the supervision of Ralph Reiff, Butler’s senior associate athletic director for student-athlete health, performance and well-being.

Instead of athletic massages that should have lasted only 10 minutes and directed at a specific area, Howell would give full-body massages in a private room that could last hours, the complaint said.

Further, Howell told the women he had “files against all the players and would use them if they ever said anything bad about him,” the lawsuits allege.

“If I go down, you all go down with me,” the lawsuit alleges he told them.

The lawsuit claims Reiff “never inquired, investigated, raised questions about the safety of the female athletes or followed safety protocols.”

Butler issued a statement saying in part “the health, safety, and well-being of our campus community is always our top priority.”

“In late September 2021, student-athletes on the women’s soccer team reported misconduct by Michael Howell, an assistant athletic trainer. Upon being informed of the allegations, the University promptly notified law enforcement, removed Howell from campus and suspended him from his job duties, pending further investigation. After a thorough investigation and hearing, the trainer was found responsible for violating University policies, and he was then terminated in summer 2022,” the statement said.

Howell could not be located for comment Wednesday evening. The Indianapolis Star said Reiff did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.