Georgetown coach Tasha Butts, a Tennessee player, passes away at age 41 following a fight with breast cancer.
Tasha Butts, a former Lady Vols basketball player, passed away following a two-year fight with breast cancer. Her age was 41.
Before it was announced in September that Butts was stepping away to focus on her health and ongoing struggle with breast cancer, she was just beginning her first season as Georgetown’s women’s basketball coach.
The loss of a Lady Vol sisterhood member far too young has devastated our program, according to a statement from the school sent by Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper. “Tasha had the kind of personality that made friends with everyone she encountered. She was such a blessing to our family in Tennessee and to women’s basketball in general. During this incredibly trying time, our prayers and thoughts are with her entire family and friends.”
Butts was hired at Georgetown in April in her first head-coaching job. She spent the previous four seasons on the staff at Georgia Tech, first as an assistant and then associate head coach.
“The news of Tasha’s passing is incredibly sad,” Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner said in a school release. “Tasha was so instrumental to the success of this program. What she did as a member of this coaching staff cannot be undervalued. She was tough – tough on her kids, tough in her expectations, but yet she was soft underneath when players needed her to be there for them, and she was always there for them.
“We are incredibly sad this day has come. She battled from the day of her diagnosis. We are proud of her fight to the end. We will forever love Tasha. She will forever be missed.”
Butts was diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer in December 2021 while at Georgia Tech, which sparked the “Tasha Tough” campaign. It has since brought awareness and raised money to bring quality care to women who can’t afford it through the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
