NFL’s Top Earner Harrison Butker Addresses Backlash over Controversial Speech

BY : Milton Quintanilla Crosswalk Headlines Contributor

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker continues to defend his comments made during a Catholic college commencement speech in May that sparked widespread criticism against him at the time. Butker, 29, delivered the May 11 commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. He noted that he initially did not plan to do the speech since he had delivered one commencement speech at his alma mater, Georgia Tech University, in 2023.

“I feel like, seven years in the league, having this platform, I’ve just decided, you know what, there’s things that I believe wholeheartedly that I think will make this world a better place, and I’m going to preach that,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “And if people don’t agree, they don’t agree, but I’m going to continue to say what I believe to be true and love everyone along the way.”

“I prayed about it, and I thought about it, and I was very intentional with what I said, and I stand behind what I said,” he added.

During the commencement speech at Benedictine College, Butker touched on various themes he described as central to Catholic values, including speaking out against modern societal norms and political stances that are contrary to his religious beliefs, such as abortion and LGBT pride.

The comments that drew the most criticism, however, was when Butker said that women were lied to by society, and although they look forward to having careers one day, they ultimately look forward to becoming mothers.

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he said.

“Things like abortion, [in-vitro fertilization], surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder,” Butker continued.

He also denounced President Joe Biden, a practicing Catholic, over his support for abortion.

Additionally, thousands signed an online petition calling for the Chiefs to release Butker.

Last week, Butker signed a four-year extension with the Chiefs, a $25.6 million extension with over $17 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid player in his position. He told the AP that he feels people misinterpret his support for family roles and rejected accusations that he is “trying to put women down.”

“My whole career, I’ve talked about how I’m a husband, and I’m a father before it comes to me as a kicker, something I’ve always preached,” he was quoted as saying. “But then when I use that to talk about women, I say that they should embrace and love being wives and being mothers over their career, I think then it gets construed that I’m trying to put women down, which I’m not at all.”