Kevin Durant isn\u2019t the only famous person in sports with a burner account. Enter ESPN\u2019s Laura Rutledge.<\/p>\n
Burner accounts are an infamous tool in social media where otherwise notable people go to say what is really on their mind or achieve a goal that might be a little too direct or combative from the page that represents their personal brand.<\/p>\n
After Durant\u2019s burner was uncovered<\/a>, he has taken pride<\/a> in battling everyone from trolls to analysts to random social media users on his own account.<\/p>\n For Laura Rutledge, it wasn\u2019t about combating trolls about her appearances on ESPN, whether it be her acclaimed work on NFL Live, SEC Network, reporting, or many things in between. It was all about defending her husband, former MLB player Josh Rutledge. The pair have been married since 2013 and Josh played in the big leagues for six years from 2012-2017.<\/p>\n In an interview with Andrew Marchand, Rutledge admitted to going on what was then called Twitter under an alias to defend her husband from critics. But at least she was smart enough to also throw in some complimentary tweets in there of Mike Trout so as to not give away the game. In that regard, she was at least one step ahead of @usegolfFACTS<\/a>.<\/p>\n Laura Rutledge made a Twitter\/X account to defend her husband, former MLBer Josh.<\/p>\n Long live Billy Halo 76!! \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23 https:\/\/t.co\/dEyRLwkiPB<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/NPJ50WoTyl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a true story. I actually think this Twitter or X handle might still exist, but when he was with the Angels I made a fake Twitter, which I\u2019m admitting this, ok, I know this was wrong. I\u2019m not doing it ever since but this was a one-time thing. The name was like BillyHalo76 or something. And Billy Halo only tweeted positive things about Josh Rutledge and then the occasional Mike Trout tweet, because I was like, \u2018shoot, someone is going to figure this out,’\u201d Rutledge said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Josh knows this. If he watches this he\u2019s going to be really mad at me,\u201d Rutledge laughed.<\/p>\n In case you were wondering, a forensic search on X shows an account at @BillyHalo664<\/a> that hasn\u2019t posted and doesn\u2019t follow anybody and was added in July 2023. A search for @BillyHalo76 came up empty. Perhaps finding Laura Rutledge\u2019s original burner account is an investigation that we can put Pablo Torre on<\/a> for a new episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out.<\/p>\n \t