Harrison Butker Revisits Controversial Graduation Speech

Earlier this year, Harrison Butker’s commencement speech at Benedictine College in Kansas quickly became a hot topic across the country.

As The Blast reported, Butker, a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs and teammate of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, gave a speech that quickly went viral—not for the right reasons. The NFL kicker didn’t hold back, diving into sensitive issues like politics, the LGBTQ community, and gender roles. The controversy heated up when he told the graduating women they had been fed “the most diabolical lies” and indicated women should be “homemakers.”

Just days after his speech went viral, Harrison Butker addressed the nation, standing by his views, and now, months later, he’s doubling down on his statements.

Nearly two weeks after his commencement speech at the Kansas college, Butker took the stage again at the “Courage Under Fire” gala at Regina Caeli Academy, a traditional Catholic institution in Nashville, Tennessee, where he delivered another speech.

“Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here in support of Regina Charlie Academy,” he said, per The Blast’s previous report. “It’s been great to see a lot of friends here tonight and to meet so many of the families that attend our centers across the country.”

“The theme for tonight’s gala, ‘Courage Under Fire,’ was decided many months ago, but it now feels providential that this would be the theme after what we have all witnessed these past two weeks,” he later said. “If it wasn’t clear that the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is now.”

“Over the past few days, my beliefs, or what people think I believe, have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe. At the outset, many people expressed a shocking level of hate, but as the days went on, even those who disagreed with my viewpoints shared their support for my freedom of religion,” he added, seemingly addressing the comments made by his teammates.

According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, August 7, Harrison Butker revisited the comments he made during his May Benedictine College speech and remained steadfast in his stance.

“I feel like, seven years in the league, having this platform, I’ve just decided, ‘You know what, there’s things that I believe wholeheartedly that I think will make this world a better place, and I’m going to preach that.’ And if people don’t agree, they don’t agree, but I’m going to continue to say what I believe to be true and love everyone along the way,” Butker said.

“I prayed about it, and I thought about it, and I was very intentional with what I said,” he continued. “And I stand behind what I said.”

As The Blast reported, Butker’s speech drew controversy because of his views on gender roles, the LGBTQ community, and politics.

“Bad policies and poor leadership” had “negatively impacted major life issues,” Butker said in his speech back in May, seemingly bashing President Joe Biden. “Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerative cultural values in media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.”

“We cannot buy into the lie that the things we experienced during COVID were appropriate,” the NFL kicker added. “Over the centuries, there have been great wars, great famines, and yes, even great diseases, all that came with a level of lethality and danger. But in each of those examples, Church leaders leaned into their vocations and ensured that their people received the sacraments.”

In addition to the LGBTQ community and politics, Butker spoke on gender roles, which offended many across the nation.

“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,” he said in his speech on May 11. “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.”

He then spoke about his wife, who “would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

Days after the speech went viral, Patrick Mahomes broke his silence on the matter, saying he “knows Harrison” and has “known him for seven years.”

“I judge him by the character that he shows every single day and that’s a good person,” he said of his teammate. “That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact in society. When you’re in a locker room, there’s a lot of people from many different areas in life and they have a lot of different views on everything.”

Mahomes added, “We’re not always going to agree, and there’s certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is, and he is trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”