NEW YORK — The NFL has distanced itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, stating that “his views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”
Butker spoke at the commencement ceremony at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution in Kansas, last week and claimed most of the graduating ladies were likely more enthused about getting married and having children.
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NFL Distances Itself From Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Comments During Commencement Speech
Butker also said that some Catholic officials were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.”
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” said Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a statement issued on Thursday. “His opinions do not represent the NFL as an organization. The NFL remains unwavering in its commitment to inclusion, which only strengthens our league.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion gave his about 20-minute speech Saturday at the school in Atchison, Kansas, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Kansas City. He earned a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.
Butker, who has made his conservative Catholic convictions known, also criticized Pride Month, which is especially crucial for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, as well as President Joe Biden’s abortion stance.
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker concluded.
NFL Distances Itself From Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Comments During Commencement Speech
“Some of you may go on to have excellent jobs in the world, but I believe the bulk of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into the world. I can guarantee you that my lovely wife Isabelle would be the first to state that her life truly began when she began to live her vocation as a wife and mother,” he said.
Butker, 28, claimed his wife accepted “one of the most important titles of all.” Homemaker.”
Butker also chastised The Associated Press for emphasizing a move toward conservativism in some sectors of the church.
Butker also made an oblique allusion to Pride Month, referring to a “deadly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it.” Butker also criticized Biden’s views, such as his rejection of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and support for abortion rights, which are significant campaign topics in the 2024 presidential race.
NFL Distances Itself From Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Comments During Commencement Speech
The 2017 seventh-round pick from Georgia Tech has emerged as one of the NFL’s greatest kickers, breaking the Chiefs franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022. Butker helped them win their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, added a second Lombardi Trophy in 2023, and kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime against San Francisco in February.
SOURCE – (AP)
