Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered a controversial graduation speech days ago, and the backlash has not subsided.
On May 11, Butker addressed the class of 2024 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Throughout his speech, Butker criticized birth control, IVF, Pride Month, and other issues, urging women to prioritize becoming stay-at-home moms.
In addition to denouncing Pride Month as a “deadly sin” and criticizing diversity and equity campaigns, Butker suggested that women would be better off marrying and starting families rather than pursuing careers.
The City of Kansas City’s official X account was criticized for removing a post about Butker. The account operator had made a personal jab at Butker, revealing his whereabouts and stating that he resides in a different Missouri city.
“We apologize [sic] for our previous tweet. It was shared in error,” the post read.
Although the post was taken down, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas addressed the matter in a different post, calling it “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 during his speech to graduates at Benedictine College, a small Catholic university in Atchison, Kansas.
The NFL stated that Butker’s remarks do not represent the opinions of the league.
“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 them as “a clear miss” and “woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people, and women.”
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The Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl winners, have not made an announcement regarding the situation.
In front of about 485 male and female graduates, Butker asserted that a woman’s achievements at home are more significant than her aspirations in the classroom or 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 were also offended by Butker’s reference to pop singer Taylor Swift, who is currently dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and was a regular at Chiefs games last season, including the Super Bowl.
