Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker looking on.
Harrison Butker (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker continues to face immense public backlash for his comments in a commencement speech at a Kansas college last week, but the controversy hasn’t negatively affected his jersey sales whatsoever.

Last Saturday, Harrison Butker gave a commencement speech to students at Benedictine College, a liberal arts college based in Atchison, Kansas.

During the speech, Butker made antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and misogynistic comments.In one part of the speech, Butker advised the female graduates to be “homemakers”.

He brought up his wife, Isabelle, during the topic and mentioned that he’s the man he is since she “leans into her vocation.”Despite the criticism and backlash around Butker’s comments, his Fanatics jersey is currently among the “most popular” NFL jerseys, as noted by the @uSTADIUM X/Twitter account:

There’s an online petition at Petition.org for the Chiefs to “dismiss” Harrison Butker over the controversial comments. As of 6:45 p.m EST on Thursday, more than 147,000 people have signed the petition.

Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, told People in a statement that Butker’s “views are not those of the NFL as an organization”, adding that the league remains committed to “inclusion.”

The Kansas City Chiefs organization has yet to address Butker’s comments publicly. The 28-year-old is entering the final season of a five-year contract extension worth $20.275 million he signed back in the 2019 offseason.

Harrison Butker Creates Unnecessary Distraction For Chiefs

Regardless of how one feels about Harrison Butker’s comments and opinions, the fact is that the three-time Super Bowl champion has caused an entirely unnecessary distraction for the defending champions.

The Chiefs are coming off a second straight Super Bowl championship and are aiming to complete the first three-peat in NFL history. They’re already waiting for Rashee Rice’s legal matters to play out, and now Andy Reid and company will soon have to answer for Butker’s comments that have affected countless people.

The sooner the Chiefs finally break their silence on Butker’s comments, the better.

City Of Kansas City Apologizes For Their “Inappropriate” Tweet About Harrison Butker Following His Controversial Graduation Speech

Harrison Butker speaking to reporters

Harrison Butker (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered a controversial graduation speech days ago, but the backlash has not been lifted.On May 11, Butker addressed the class of 2024 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Throughout his address, Butker criticized birth control, IVF, Pride Month, and other issues while urging women to be stay-at-home moms.Apart from denouncing Pride Month as a “deadly sin” and lamenting diversity and equity campaigns, Butker also caused a stir when he proposed that women would be better off marrying and starting families than pursuing jobs.

The City of Kansas City’s official X account was criticized for removing a post on Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. The account operator made an excessively personal jab at Butker.

The message revealed his whereabouts, stating that Butker resides in a different Missourian city.

“We apologize [sic] for our previous tweet. It was shared in error,” the post read.

Although the post was taken down, Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, addressed the matter in a different post, labeling it as “clearly inappropriate.”

“A message appeared earlier this evening from a City public account. The message was clearly inappropriate for a public account. The City has correctly apologized for the error, will review account access, and ensure nothing like it is shared in the future from public channels.”

The outcry has grown since Butker made the remarks on Saturday during a speech to graduates at Benedictine College, a small Catholic university in Atchison, Kansas.

Harrison Butker’s remarks do not represent the opinions of the NFL, according to a statement released by the league on Wednesday.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” said Senior Vice President Jonathan Beane, the league’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

GLAAD also released a statement regarding Butker’s remarks during Pride Month, labeling it as “a clear miss” and “woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people, and women.”

The Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl winners, have not made an announcement regarding the situation.

Harrison Butker’s Comments On Women Are Garnering The Most Attention

Harrison Butker (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Butker asserted, in front of about 485 male and female graduates, that a woman’s achievements at home are more significant than her aspirations in the classroom or in her career.

“I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” he said.

“How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? 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,” per CNN.com.

Butker also praised his wife, Isabelle, saying she “would be the first to say her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

Many others were offended by Butker’s reference to Swift, the pop singer who is currently dating Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and was a regular at Chiefs games last season, including the Super Bowl.