Collegian file photo.
AIDAN GREGG | MANAGING EDITOR | agregg1@butler.edu
Content warning: explicit references to sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, grooming, child sexual abuse, child sexual abuse material and suicide.
According to recent court documents from the sex abuse lawsuit filed by four women’s soccer players against Butler University, current senior associate athletic director for student-athlete health, performance and well-being Ralph Reiff admitted to working “elbow to elbow” with convicted serial rapist Larry Nassar prior to Reiff’s employment at Butler.
The women’s soccer players filed suit on July 26, 2023, alleging that former assistant athletic trainer Michael Howell sexually abused, harassed and groomed them. Howell denies these allegations.
In his role as senior associate athletic director, Reiff was responsible for supervising Howell. The four women’s soccer players also allege that Reiff’s negligent supervision enabled Howell to sexually abuse them and he failed to institute any policies or protocols that could have protected them. Reiff and the university deny these allegations.
The plaintiffs now seek to amend their initial complaints to contextualize Reiff’s alleged neglect of the players with the details of his ties to Nassar. The plaintiffs also allege that Reiff deliberately concealed his connection with Nassar and USA Gymnastics from his colleagues and members of his hiring committee, including women’s soccer co-head coach Rob Alman, former director of athletics Barry Collier and Howell.
As part of the Title IX investigation against Howell in January 2022, Reiff said he worked with Nassar, the former team doctor for the USA Gymnastics team who sexually assaulted hundreds of women and girls under the guise of medical treatment. Reiff worked with Nassar as executive director of sports performance for St. Vincent Sports Performance as a member of the Medical Task Force for USA Gymnastics.
“Larry Nassar, with USA Gymnastics, I worked elbow to elbow with him at – at the Karolyi Ranch, as well as several gymnastics events,” Reiff said in the Title IX investigation.
Reiff told the investigators that he trained Jared Fogle, the former Subway spokesman convicted of child sex tourism and possession of child sexual abuse material. Reiff also noted that he worked with Marvin Sharp, a former Indianapolis gymnastics coach who committed suicide in 2015 in Marion County jail after his arrest for child molestation.
Following the report of Howell’s misconduct to the Butler University Police Department, chief of police John Conley also cited Nassar’s case in an email to several university officials including former assistant chief of police Diane Sweeney, former Title IX coordinator Maria Kanger, vice president for student affairs Frank Ross and legal counsel Claire Konopa Aigotti.
“I think we could be answering the question ‘did we not learn something from the Sandusky or Olympic doctor cases?’” Conley said.
The plaintiffs’ team has been explicit in drawing connections to Nassar’s crimes and Howell’s alleged misconduct in their complaints. Rachael Denhollander — a former gymnast and survivor of Nassar’s abuse — has joined the plaintiffs’ legal counsel.
In a statement to The Butler Collegian and the IndyStar, the university denied that Reiff had close ties to Nassar.
“Ralph Reiff’s work with USA Gymnastics occurred when he was an employee of St. Vincent’s and, as such, St. Vincent’s is in a better position to comment on the relationship between St. Vincent’s and USA Gymnastics. Ralph Reiff’s full and complete testimony ― not a cherry-picked phrase ― makes clear that he did not have a close working relationship with Larry Nassar,” the statement said.
Director of Strategic Communication Mark Apple was unable to comment on the university’s response to the revelations about Reiff’s relationship with Nassar nor on whether or not the university has access to Reiff’s complete testimony.
