Kansas City Chiefs tight end Harrison Butker is doubling down after coming under fire for controversial comments about women who are homemakers, abortion and other topics during a speech at a May 11 ceremony.
On Friday, May 24, Butker, 28, addressed a crowd at the Courage Under Fire gala in Nashville, hosted by the Catholic hybrid homeschooling organization Regina Caeli Academy, of which he is a board member.
In this new speech, Butker defended his commencement speech at Benedictine College, in which he addressed female students directly and talked about his wife’s decision to become a homemaker instead of working.
“If it wasn’t clear that many people hate eternal Catholic values, it is now,” Butker said, according to CNN, referring to the reaction to his speech.
Harrison Butker at Benedictine College on May 11, 2024.
Benedictine Faculty/Youtube
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Butker also spoke about his Catholic faith and referred to St. Daniel, whose biblical story includes being saved by God after being thrown into a lion’s den because of his devotion to the faith.
“Over the past few days, my beliefs, or what people think I believe, have been at the center of countless debates around the world,” he continued. “Many people have expressed a shocking level of hatred. But as the days passed, even those who disagreed with my views supported my freedom of religion.”
The video of his speech was also shared on social networks by the right-wing media organization The Daily Wire. Matt Walsh, one of the outlet’s managers, also spoke at Friday night’s ceremony, according to CNN.
“I can’t help but tremble at the thought of the courage that so many saints have shown in their lives,” the striker continued, referring to the story of Daniel in the Old Testament. “Would I be so brave if the consequence was what Daniel faced when he was fed to the lions?”
“Every bravery I have shown will lead to some little suffering. And that will lead to some people maybe never loving me, but that could be God’s will,” he added.
Harrison Butker urged graduates to ‘get married and start families’ during a speech at Georgia Tech last year
During Butker’s May 11 speech, he spoke of the “diabolical lies being told to women” about abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy. He also said pride in the LGBTQ+ community is a “deadly sin.”
“Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as the increasing support for degenerative cultural values in the media, all stem from a pervasive disorder,” he said at the time.
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Speaking directly to the women at the ceremony, he said: “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that most of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
His comments were widely criticized, including by the NFL.
“Harrison Butker made the speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told PEOPLE in a May 16 written statement. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
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Former Kansas City Justice Commissioner Justice Horn also slammed Butker in an X (formerly Twitter) post, writing, “Harrison Butker does not represent Kansas City and never has. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms and accepts our LGBTQ+ community members.”
Even the forward’s teammate spoke out against his comments. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce gave his speech on the May 24 episode New heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.
“I respect him as a teammate,” he said, but “I can’t say I agree with most of it or anything, except that he loves his family and his kids. And I don’t think I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, about how to behave in life, but I’m just not that.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education