Harrison Butker has broken his silence on his polarizing Benedictine commencement speech, doubling down on comments that many have criticized as misogynistic and homophobic. During an interview on August 7 Associated Press“I was very careful about what I said, and I stand by what I said,” the Chiefs' kicker said.
In his fiery speech, Butker railed against “abortion, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, euthanasia and the growing support for corrupt cultural values and media”, saying that “all of these” [the] prevalence of disorder.” He called on graduates to be “unapologetic” [their] He said that “masculinity” and “the cultural disempowerment of men” needed to be combated.
“I think you, women, have been told the most evil lies,” Butker opined. “Some of you may go on to have successful careers in the world, but I suspect most of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to tell you that her life truly began when she began living her calling as a wife and mother.”
These comments drew harsh criticism from NFL fans as well as celebrities like Serena Williams and Eddie Vedder.
“I prayed about it and thought about it,” Butker said. APPLICATION This week, “I was very careful about what I said, and I stand by what I said.”
Butker continued by explaining his reasoning: “I've spent seven years in the league, I've had this platform, I've decided that there are things that I believe in with all my heart and that I think will make this world a better place, and I'm going to preach those things. And if people don't agree, then they don't agree, but I'm going to continue to speak what I believe is right and love everybody along the way.”
In his commencement speech, Butker called Pride Month a “mortal sin” and accused Catholic leaders of “imposing dangerous gender ideologies on America's youth.” The NFL distanced itself from Butker's ideology, saying that “his views are not the views of the NFL as an organization.”
To talk APPLICATIONButker doubled down once again, trying to explain his reasoning. “I’ve talked about my entire career, before I came out as a kicker, being a husband and a father, something I’ve always preached,” he continued. “But then when I use that to talk about women, saying that they should embrace and love being wives and mothers throughout their careers, I think that’s interpreted as me trying to put women down, which I’m not at all.”