Missouri’s Saint Joseph Harrison Butker, the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, stated on Wednesday that he still has no regrets about any aspect of his May commencement speech at Benedictine College. During the speech, he made several controversial remarks, including the assertion that a woman’s most important role is “homemaker.” As a result, he received a lot of backlash during the NFL offseason.
“Seven years in the league, having this platform, I’ve just decided there’s things that I believe wholeheartedly that I think will make this world a better place,” Butker said after training camp practice in his first news conference since the speech. “I’m going to preach that. If people don’t agree, then they don’t agree. I’m going to continue to say what I believe to be true and love everyone along the way.”
Butker instructed the Benedictine College grads in May not to allow political figures to meddle in social matters that affect their standing with the Catholic Church. Butker also discussed gender stereotypes, stating that “homemaker” is the most significant title for a woman.
“It is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you,” Butker said during the speech. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
We’ve officially signed @buttkicker7 to an extension.
The man with the most field goals in Super Bowl history stays in Chiefs Kingdom! pic.twitter.com/DIJURs5hZE
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 7, 2024
Butker, the highest-paid kicker in the NFL after agreeing to a four-year contract extension this week, has drawn a lot of criticism for his belief that a woman’s place in the labor is inferior to a man’s.
Serena Williams, the tennis legend, poked fun of Butker last month while she hosted the 2024 ESPY Awards, which Butker attended. As Williams spoke onstage about the year in women’s sports, “Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson, Venus Williams, her sister, told the audience to “go ahead and enjoy women’s sports, like you would any other sports, because they are sports.”
Serena then added the punchline: “Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.”
“At all. Like, ever,” Brunson said.
Butker responded to Williams’s jibe after it was broadcast on television, although it was not shown during the show. Butker made an attempt to clarify on Wednesday that his commencement address and opinions in general are not intended to be demeaning to women.
“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,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always preached. But when I use that to talk about women, and I say that they should embrace and love being (a wife) and being (a mother) over their career, I think then it gets misconstrued that I’m trying to put women down, which I’m not at all.
“I love women. I love my wife (Isabelle). My wife had never heard me speak publicly (before) and she was there for that moment, and she was up in the background. I was getting emotional looking at her crying and understanding that she has sacrificed so much for me. She has completely changed her life around and she has made sure she has focused on being the ultimate wife and mother. I see how happy and excited she is day to day, to wake up and embrace that life. She pushes me to be a better husband and father and focus on my three children and focus on her over maybe trying to be the best kicker I can be.”
Another controversial part of Butker’s commencement speech was when he referred to Pride Month as an example of the “deadly sins.” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization, said in a statement that Butker’s speech was “inaccurate, ill-informed and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women.”
“Those with expansive platforms, especially athletes, should use their voices to uplift and expand understanding and acceptance in the world,” she said. “Instead, Butker’s remarks undermine experiences not of his own and reveal him to be one who goes against his own team’s commitment to the Kansas City community, and the NFL’s standards for respect, inclusion and diversity across the league.”
In a statement, the NFL also disavowed Butker’s remarks and stated that his opinions did not reflect those of the league as a whole. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responded, “The league has a diversity of viewpoints and thoughts,” in response to a question regarding Butker’s comments during the league meetings in Nashville in May.
Although it is not in play during Pride Month, the NFL supports LGBTQ+ causes. The NFL and the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD collaborated to present a “Night of Pride” event on the Wednesday prior to Super Bowl LVIII. Among the NFL teams carrying the Pride line of rainbow-colored gear is the Chiefs.
“I look at the offseason as a five-month period where I can represent myself as Harrison Butker as a faithful Catholic,” he said Wednesday. “Then obviously, when it gets to the season I try to focus as much as I can on football and not being a distraction from the Chiefs.”
During his address, Butker also criticized President Joe Biden on a number of topics, including as the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion. He also questioned Biden’s adherence to Catholicism.
Butker restated on Wednesday that he worked on his speech for several months. He said that he had prayed several times over his remarks. Butker emphasized that he had purpose behind every word he said and wrote while attending Benedictine College.
“I stand behind what I said,” Butker said. “I really believe if people knew me as a person, and understood that it was coming from a place of love — and not a place of trying to attract or put people down — and that I only want the best for people, that’s what I was trying to say there. I think the people that were in that gymnasium all understood what I was saying.”
(Photo: Denny Medley / USA Today)
