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A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed a $250 million defamation lawsuit brought by junior volleyball coach Rick Butler against Olympic gold medalist and athlete-safety advocate Nancy Hogshead, delivering a landmark ruling on the legal protections available to advocates, journalists, and nonprofits who publicly document abuse allegations in sport.
Kim, affirms that First Amendment protections extend to advocacy organizations speaking on matters of public concern — a ruling with broad implications for how sports industries handle misconduct disclosures.
The Case and Its Dismissal Butler and his wife Cheryl filed the lawsuit in December 2021, targeting statements Hogshead made in 2017 and 2018 about allegations that Butler had sexually abused teenage girls he coached during the 1980s.
The suit alleged those statements were part of a coordinated effort to destroy the couple's volleyball business. Judge Kim rejected that framing entirely.
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