James Aaron Butts (born May 9, 1950) is a retired American triple jumper.

He won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics and a bronze at the 1979 Pan American Games.

Butts won the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials with a wind-aided 17.29 m, just short of the existing world record at the time.

[2][3] Butts won the 1972 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships while competing for the University of California at Los Angeles.

While training for the Olympics, he worked two jobs including as a janitor, to support his mother and sister.