Chiefs' Harrison Butker rebuffs criticism over commencement speech: 'Stand behind what it is I'm saying'
Harrison Butker signed a lucrative extension earlier this week
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker stood by the remarks he made during a college commencement speech earlier this year as he addressed reporters on Wednesday.
Butker was criticized for his comments at Benedictine College where he suggested women should embrace the term "homemaker" and criticized President Joe Biden for his stance on abortion while practicing the Catholic faith. He was on the receiving end of blunt remarks from Serena Williams at the ESPY Awards in July as well.
Still, Butker isn’t backing down.
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Jul 26, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) walks from the locker room to the fields prior to training camp at Missouri Western State University. (Denny Medley/USA Today Sports)
"I'm going to stand behind what it is I'm saying," he told reporters. "I kind of look at the offseason as a little bit of a maybe five-month period where I can just represent me as Harrison Butker as a faithful Catholic. And then, obviously, when it gets to the season, I try to focus as much as I can on football and not being a distraction for the Chiefs."
Butker said he talked about the speech with some of his teammates as well.
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Jul 26, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) kicks as punter Matt Araiza (49) holds during training camp at Missouri Western State University. (Denny Medley/USA Today Sports)
"Yeah, and I will say, I feel like this team is so close," he said. "Ever since that speech, there have been tons of conversations in the locker room with guys just connecting and trying to understand each other. I think it’s been a beautiful thing to see, and I think that’s what’s so special about sports and what’s so special about football.
"There’s not many sports where you have 50 to 100 guys with a bunch of different beliefs, and we’re all fighting together to win. You have a bunch of different personalities (and) a bunch of different backgrounds, and we’re all there together trying to understand each other and realize that at the end of the day, we have one goal together, and that’s to win football games."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Place kicker Harrison Butker #7 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates kicking a field goal in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 26, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 31-17. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
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Butker and the Chiefs announced a four-year contract extension. The Chiefs reportedly made Butker the highest-paid kicker in NFL history.
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