NEW ORLEANS — Harrison Butker knows that you might not agree with his core beliefs, because some of his own teammates don’t.
A season that will end with Butker kicking field goals in Super Bowl 2025 for the Chiefs began with him in the national spotlight for a very different reason.
While delivering the commencement speech at Benedictine College, Butker, a devout Christian, opined that more women in the audience were excited about starting a family than having a career and mentioned a “ᴅᴇᴀᴅly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it” in a reference to Pride Month.
“God has given me this platform and I’m going to say what I believe to be true and what I hold close to my heart,” Butker said Monday night when asked to revisit those remarks. “Anything that comes, I’m blessed to be on the Chiefs and be in another Super Bowl.”
Butker said the comments made in May “opened up a lot of good conversations” among teammates.
“A lot of guys had different opinions about it,” Butker said, “but we all love each other in that locker room. We all know who we are. All the guys understood where I was coming from. They respect me. They respect what I have to say. And I have nothing to apologize for.”
The NFL distanced itself from Butker’s “views” and reiterated its “steadfast … commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.” At the time, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid supported Butker’s character but dodged commenting on the speech’s content.
Butker and his wife have three children. In his speech, he said one of the most important roles a woman can fill is “homemaker.”
“My faith in Christ is the most important thing and I want to share that, and I want to share a lot of the things that helped me in my marriage,” Butker said. “Not all society is going to agree or not. I think it’s better for us to be open and talk about different ideas.”
Butker was promptly condemned by a mulтιтude of organizations and labeled a bigot, Sєxist and homophobe in parts of social media. Some people who rooted for him in the last two Super Bowls simply won’t now.
“In order for me to share that message, I had to be confident,” Butker said. “I’m a husband and a father before anything else. I love playing football with the guys, but sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by outside noise.
“In some ways, it’s not reality. It’s not conversations we have with neighbors. Sometimes we have to detach from social media because it can feel like the whole world is coming at you. Everyone experiences that on different scales. We have to focus on what’s most important.”
