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S.D. man left bloody, bruised after telling woman not to use gay slur

S.D. man left bloody, bruised after telling woman not to use gay slur
Drew Bartscher
Drew Bartscher

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A South Dakota man says he was just doing the right thing when told a passer-by on the street not to use anti-gay slurs, but what happened next left him bloody and bruised.

Drew Bartscher, 27, says he was in crowd with two of his friends outside a tavern in Sioux Falls early Sunday morning when he heard a woman use a derogatory term for gays.

Bartscher, who is straight, says he politely told her she should not say that word.

What happened next blindsided him, reports KELO-TV.

“Then I hear this guy yell at me, ‘What the F did you say to my girlfriend?!?!’ I turned just a little bit and then the next thing I know, my friends are picking me up off the sidewalk, (because) I had gotten punched pretty good,” Bartscher said.

Though Bartscher says he’s a bit embarrassed about his shiner, he’s not ashamed of what he did to get it. He says he posted a photo of his injury almost immediately afterward, with the caption: “Stand up for what you believe in. Love everyone.”

KELO-TV reports:

Bartscher says he reported the assault to police, but the couple he mentions got away before they could be questioned. And, he says, despite the assault, he’d do it all over again.

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