INDIANAPOLIS — Butler mascot Blue III was barking up the wrong tree on Saturday.

Before Saturday’s home opener, linebacker Xavier Colvin led his Butler football teammates on the field while carrying a City of Indianapolis flag. The game marked the Indianapolis native’s first home game since sharing publicly he’s gay in August.

But as Colvin started to run toward the field, Blue III, an English Bulldog and Butler’s mascot, found his way under Colvin’s left foot, and Colvin stepped on the dog’s back.

Colvin pulled his left leg away, but Blue III bit him on the right calf.

The 5-foot-9, 210-pound redshirt sophomore ran to his right and stayed several yards away from Blue III for the rest of the run to the field.

The bite didn’t break the skin, so once he was on the field, Colvin resumed preparation for the game against Taylor University.

Blue III quickly took to Twitter to defend himself, “Before rumors spread, let it be known that I got stepped on first. Just reacting. Nothing but love for @x_Colvin43 & @ButlerUFootball.” The tweet included four photos of the incident.

Colvin responded on Twitter after the game, “In my defense, it was an accident. All love kid.”

The love continued from Blue III’s official Twitter account, which tweeted, “I mean, @x_Colvin43 is the nicest guy on the @ButlerUFootball team. We cool, X. Congrats on the dub! #GoDawgs

Colvin helped Butler beat Taylor 27-21. He had one solo tackle and one assisted tackle in the game, along with a 1-yard kickoff return.

This comes after Colvin had two solo tackles and two assisted tackles in a 43-24 win against Franklin College on Sept. 9.

And for dog lovers out there, Blue III is fine. He tweeted, “Didn’t even feel it. All good.”

Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBT.

Division I
Scott Frantz (redshirt sophomore, Kansas State football) started at left tackle each of the last two games as the Wildcats (2-1 overall) beat Charlotte 55-7 and lost Saturday at Vanderbilt 14-7.

Hannah Griffiths Boston (senior, Portland women’s soccer) started all three games as the Pilots (3-6 overall) went 1-2 the last two weeks. She recorded three shots over the three games.

Mason Johnson (senior, Quinnipiac women’s rugby) decided “to forego his final year of athletic eligibility but will remain an integral part of the program in a non-competitive capacity,” according to Ken Sweeten, Quinnipiac associate athletic director.

Sonia Johnson (senior, DePaul women’s soccer) played 16 minutes off the bench and recorded a shot in the Blue Demons’ 4-0 win against William & Mary on Sept. 10. Johnson did not play Sept. 8 against Pepperdine, a DePaul win, or Sunday against Loyola (Chicago), a DePaul loss.

Alexis Lewandowski (junior, IUPUI women’s cross country) finished 97th (19 minutes, 26 seconds) and Kelsey Tyler (senior, IUPUI women’s cross country) completed the race 143rd (20:27.7) at Saturday’s 5-kilometer Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tennessee. The pair helped IUPUI’s women’s team take 11th in the 17-team field.

EJ Proctor (senior, Duke women’s soccer) received the ACC Defensive Player of the Week award on Sept. 12 for recording a shutout in goal with five saves as Duke beat No. 3-ranked West Virginia 4-0. She recorded another shutout Sunday — her 24th career shutout — in a 3-0 win against Virginia Tech, and No. 4-ranked Duke improved to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC.

Elias Rieland (senior, Sacramento State men’s soccer) came off the bench in three of four matches as the Hornets (4-3 overall) went 3-1 the last two weeks.

Drew Davis (assistant coach, Creighton women’s volleyball) saw the No. 8-ranked Bluejays (7-4 overall) go 2-3 the last two weeks. Creighton beat Belmont and No. 7-ranked Kansas, and the losses came against Wichita State, No. 17-ranked Purdue, and No. 19-ranked Iowa State.

James Finley (head coach, Seattle women’s volleyball) guided the Redhawks (4-9 overall) to a 3-4 record the last two weeks. On Sept. 9 against Bowling Green, Seattle setter Shae Harris set a program record with 62 assists in a five-set win.

Chip Rogers (assistant coach, Miami (Ohio) women’s field hockey) helped coach the Redhawks (4-4 overall) to a 2-2 record the last two weeks.

Jessica Smith (assistant coach, Kansas State women’s soccer) saw the Wildcats (5-3-1 overall) go 3-1 the last two weeks.

Division II
Noah Ratliff (junior, Mercyhurst men’s water polo) recorded two steals and two shots over four games Saturday and Sunday as the Lakers (2-4 overall) went 1-3 at the Bison Invitational.

Division III
Alec Donovan (redshirt sophomore, Centenary men’s cross country) finished 30th (38:49) at Saturday’s 5-mile Monmouth Invitational. A week earlier, he finished 76th (35:30.5) at the 8-kilometer Purchase College Invitational, where he helped Centenary finish 10th of 15 teams.

Michael Drougas (senior, Oberlin men’s tennis) went 2-1 to place third in No. 1 singles at the season-opening Kenyon College Invitational on Sept. 9 and 10.

Michael Dumaine (senior, Hanover men’s soccer) started on defense for all four matches the last two weeks as the Panthers (4-2 overall) went 3-1. Dumaine recorded five shots over the four games.

Lindsey Farrell (junior, McDaniel women’s soccer) sent the pass on the game-winning goal of a 1-0 double-overtime win against Albright on Sept. 9. She scored the first of two goals in McDaniel’s 2-1 win against Ursinus on Saturday. The Green Terror (5-1 overall) went 4-0 the last two weeks and are on a five-match winning streak.

Dominick Gutierrez (junior, Lynchburg men’s tennis) decided not to play on the tennis team during the fall semester, when he is taking 18 credit hours. He said that he is “likely” to rejoin the team during the spring semester.

Jason Hadley (junior, Mount Union men’s cross country) finished 52nd (28:23.5) at Saturday’s 8-kilometer Tiffleberg Open, where Mount Union finished second of nine teams.

Sam Johnson (sophomore, Whittier men’s soccer) started two of three games on defense for the Poets’ (1-3 overall) as they went 1-2 the last two weeks. He missed the Sept. 13 match against Claremont-M-S after getting two yellow cards in the Sept. 9 match against La Verne.

Taylor Reifert (junior, Pomona-Pitzer men’s soccer) started all five matches in midfield as the Sagehens (2-3-1 overall) went 1-3-1 the last two weeks. Reifert recorded six shots over the five games.

Matt Taylor (sophomore, Willamette men’s cross country) finished 167th (29:58.8) at Saturday’s 8-kilometer St. Olaf Invitational, where Willamette finished fifth in a 19-team field.

Nick Vucovich (senior, Pomona-Pitzer men’s cross country) came in 111th (25:43.3) at Saturday’s 8-kilometer UC Riverside Invitational, where the Sagehens took 12th in a 33-team field.

NAIA
Maria Berrum (junior, Robert Morris women’s soccer) came in as a reserve and logged two shots in her team’s 1-0 loss to Davenport on Sept. 10. Berrum started Sept. 13 against Viterbo for the Eagles (1-4-1 overall), and she logged one shot in the double overtime scoreless tie.

Kyle Kurdziolek (junior, St. Francis football) recorded one tackle in the Fighting Saints’ (0-2 overall) loss 68-23 to No. 1-ranked University of St. Francis (Indiana) on Sept. 9.

Darrion McAlister (senior, Marian football) started in the Knights’ 49-28 win against Robert Morris on Sept. 9.

NJCAA
Lexie Gerson (assistant coach, Harcum women’s basketball) accepted the position of associate head coach for the Harcum College women’s basketball program, which is based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Last season, Gerson was an assistant coach at Arcadia University.

Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @HallErik or on Facebook. If you are an out LGBT athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, please email Erik.

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