Kansas City Chiefs kicker garners backlash for family values speech
Gracie Hunt, daughter of the Kansas City Chiefs owner, and author Demi-Leigh Tebow joined Fox & Friends to discuss their take on Harrison Butkers commencement speech and the broader role of faith in their lives.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s jersey sales have skyrocketed since his now-controversial commencement address at a private Catholic liberal arts school in Kansas, but members of the media don’t appear to be lining up for his merchandise.
As of Friday, Butker’s jersey was the "most popular" among Chiefs players, even ranking ahead of superstars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The uptick in popularity comes as Butker is being shredded in the media for his faith-based commencement speech last weekend at Benedictine College, where he made a series of headline-generating remarks about women, the LGBTQ community and President Biden.
HuffPost opinion editor Stephen A. Crockett asked, "What Was Harrison Butker Thinking?" in a piece that declared "his foot was firmly in his mouth" during the speech.
CLICK HERE TO READ HARRISON BUTKER’S FULL SPEECH
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is being shredded by many in the media for expressing his beliefs during his faith-based commencement speech at Benedictine College. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
"WTF is wrong with this guy? No, seriously, WTF is wrong with him? I can’t say that he’s been knocked around too many times, as he’s a kicker (which is Latin for definitely not getting knocked around)," Crockett wrote.
"Butker’s entire dreadful speech could be summed up in a few words: He’s a White man who is afraid of losing," he continued. "What he’s actually afraid of losing, no one knows. But someone, some mythical someone, is always working to take something away from White men."
Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins also mocked Butker for being a kicker.
"He’s not even a very influential member of his own team. He deserves a merely proportional response. The best reply to Butker is to make fun of him; kickers hate that," she wrote.
"Enough with the outrage over his beliefs. Who cares whether a kicker thinks a woman’s proper role is in the home, so long as you don’t have to live as a handmaiden in his household? I’m more concerned with his scaremonger, doomwatcher language," Jenkins added. "It’s his symptomatic inflationary alarmism that’s worth worrying about."
NFL CONDEMNS HARRISON BUTKER’S FAITH-BASED COMMENCEMENT SPEECH AFTER CHIEFS KICKER SPARKS BACKLASH
Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks during a media press during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night on Feb. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Robin Alam/ISI Photos)
The Post columnist went on to point out "inflated words" throughout the speech. She objected to Biden being called "delusional," Pride Month being called a "deadly sin," and scolded the kicker for saying people who seek diversity are engaged in "tyranny," among other things.
"Inflationary language is, of course, inherently lazy. It’s the recourse of people who are trying to take shortcuts to power and influence. Butker is clearly over-striving for both, and, thanks to NFL hagiography, no doubt believes he’s equipped to lead," Jenkins wrote.
Among Butker’s remarks was a comment directed at female graduates, calling on them to embrace their "vocation" as a "homemaker," which irked "Today with Hoda & Jenna" co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.
Kotb declared that she was in a bad mood after hearing Butker’s speech, and the NBC hosts questioned why a kicker was speaking for women in the first place.
"Don’t speak for us," Kotb said. "Stop speaking for women out there."
Hager added, "We have all of these people that try to divide us by labels … people that stay at home are amazing, the work they do is incredible and let’s not compare one to the other, by a man."
The exchange between the co-hosts continued, where Kotb said, "And there are lots of women who actually would like to stay at home, but because they need to earn money, they don’t even have that privilege."
"It’s an elitist concept to begin with," Hager added.
The Nation published a piece headlined, "Harrison Butker Is a Jerk, a Bigot, and a True Representative of the NFL," that also called him a "a bigoted j-----s."
On ABC News’ "The View," panelists took turns criticizing Butker, though co-host Whoopi Goldberg defended his right to express his beliefs.
"Listen, I like when people say what they need to say. He’s at a Catholic college. He’s a staunch Catholic. These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to 'em," Goldberg said. "I don’t have to believe 'em. I don’t have to accept them … The same way we want respect when [former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist] Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours."
Joy Behar quipped Butker had "mother issues" and should "get a therapist," while Sara Haines agreed Butker had the right to speak out, but said his viewpoints stemmed from an "extremist" and "cult-like" version of Catholicism.
"If you’re using this to oppress people or hold them down, you’re not walking with Jesus," Haines said.
"What this man is doing is not just a devout Catholic," Haines continued. "This is someone who is practicing something called the Traditional Latin Mass, which is divergent from the majority of Catholics. It’s compared to being cult-like and extremist like some religions in the Middle East and Asia."
‘THE VIEW’ HOSTS UNLOAD ON CHIEFS KICKER FOR 'CULT-LIKE' CATHOLIC FAITH, SAY HE NEEDS THERAPY
Alyssa Farah Griffin mocked Butker’s points about his wife being a homemaker.
"What a remarkable privilege," she said. "If you get to marry an NFL kicker who wins the Super Bowl, you, too, might get to be a homemaker in this economy."
Sunny Hostin added that her "main problem" with Butker’s speech was that he said LGBTQ people engage in "sinful behavior" and pushed back, saying "the pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, basically has done more for the LGBTQ community in Catholic history."
NFL Network host Rich Eisen called Butker’s remarks "outrageous" and said his wife is both a terrific mother and a professional. Former NFL sideline reporter Lisa Guerrero wrote on X, "Hey @NFL- If you want to continue to grow your female fan base and any other marginalized group (straight white men are already watching your product), come get your boy."
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Fox News Digital’s Scott Thompson, Chantz Martin Paulina Dedaj and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
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