Early Years

Born on July 19, 1968, Butler spent his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida. His parents separated when he was a toddler, and his mother, Eunice, supported Butler and his four siblings by working first as a secretary and later as a nurse. The family lived in a small apartment in the crime-infested Blodgett Homes housing project on Jacksonville’s west side.

As a child, Butler’s problems went beyond poverty and crime. He was born so pigeon-toed that doctors had to break bones in both of his feet when he was only eight months to correct the problem. Walking was a major challenge for Butler, who spent much of his early youth in a wheelchair. Between the ages of six and eight, he was had to wear leg braces. He spent much of his early childhood gazing out the window watching neighborhood children play kickball—something he could not even imagine doing. At the time, doctors predicted that Butler would be lucky if he ever walked normally. Certainly, the notion of becoming a professional athlete was not in his foreseeable future.