Harrison Butker

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has been busy making headlines of the wrong kind recently, making a speech that went viral at the Benedictine College commencement ceremony recently.

During the speech, Butker referenced modern women’s roles in the household and how his wife sacrificed her career to take up a more traditional – at least in his eyes – role.

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Andy Reid delivers savage response to media over Butker’s speech question

He spoke of how his wife’s life: “really started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. Isabelle’s dream of having a career might not have come true, but if you asked her today if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud, without hesitation, and say, ‘Heck, no.'”

He added: “For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment…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.”

Butker’s comments have been slammed online, with his views going against the ambitious way in which women of all ages are now encouraged to think.

And indeed how his mother, Elizabeth Keller, thinks. Keller spent as much as 35 years as a medical physicist at the prestigious Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1985 and later earned a master’s.

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While blazing a career in physics, Keller raised two children, including Harrison and his older sister Charlotte, who played soccer at Emory. All that completely contradicts Butker’s view that women should focus on marriage and raising a family rather than enjoying productive careers like their male counterparts.

Butker’s other comments

Butker also said: “Sadly, I’m sure many of you know the countless stories of good and active members of this community who, after graduation and moving away from the Benedictine bubble, have ended up moving in with their boyfriend or girlfriend prior to marriage.

“Some even leave the Church and abandon God. It is always heartbreaking to hear these stories, and there is a desire to know what happened and what went wrong.”

Aside from all that, the kicker criticized the use of birth control, abortion and IVF therapy. He referred to all of those things as “disorder”.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Scores A Rare W By Delivering The Perfect Response To Question About Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker

Roger Goodell looking on (left). Harrison Butker speaking (right).

Roger Goodell and Harrison Butker (Photos via Ethan Miller/Getty Images and Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t exactly have a great history of addressing sensitive topics and controversy to the media, but he scored a rare victory with his statement on comments made by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.

The 28-year-old kicker made headlines on May 11 when he delivered a controversial commencement speech to graduating students at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Harrison Butker made homophobic, antisemitic, sexist and misogynistic remarks and encouraged the women in the graduating class to become “homemakers.”

Many were outraged over the silence by Goodell and the Chiefs organization on Butker’s comments. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the commissioner finally addressed them and opted to stay neutral on the topic:

“We have over 3,000 players. We have executives around the league. They have diversity of opinions and thoughts just like America does. That’s something we treasure.”

Pelissero also noted that Goodell deferred to the league’s previous statement on Butker’s comments, shared by NFL Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion officer Jonathan Beane last week. Beane told People that the league does not share Butker’s views.

 

As the NFL Commissioner, Goodell isn’t in the best spot to share his opinion on what Butker stated in the commencement speech. Harrison Butker certainly isn’t the only NFL player, coach or staffer to have those beliefs, so Goodell had no choice but to avoid adding more fuel to the saga.

Harrison Butker Likely Won’t Be Reprimanded For His Comments

Butker certainly isn’t the first (nor will he be the last) NFL player to express controversial and offensive comments that caused public backlash. But whether fans like it or not, it’s evident that he won’t be reprimanded for his comments.

Both Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid emphasized that Butler has his freedom of speech. If the Chiefs were that disturbed and unhappy with Butker’s comments, he would have been fined or outright released by now.

Kansas City has employed Butker since his 2017 rookie season. He’s been a key member of their three Super Bowl championship teams, so it’s not surprising that they’re opting to deal with the public backlash and keeping him on their roster.