Current:Home > MyChainkeen|NFL Responds to Kansas City Chiefs Player Harrison Butker's Controversial Graduation Speech -Elevate Capital Network
Chainkeen|NFL Responds to Kansas City Chiefs Player Harrison Butker's Controversial Graduation Speech
Chainkeen View
Date:2025-04-10 01:53:28
The ChainkeenNFL is making it clear that Harrison Butker does not speak for them.
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker faced criticism for a May 11 commencement speech he gave at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., in which he touched on a number of topics from abortion to the role of women and LGBTQ+ rights.
Following the graduation address, the NFL clarified that Butker's comments do not represent the league as a whole.
"Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity," the NFL's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said in a statement to People. "His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger."
During his speech, Butker discussed various political and religious topics, and even quoted the song "Bejeweled" by Taylor Swift, the girlfriend of his teammate Travis Kelce.
"Tragically, so many priests revolve much of their happiness from the adulation they receive from their parishioners. And in searching for this, they let their guard down and become overly familiar," he "said. "This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time. Because as my teammate's girlfriend says, 'familiarity breeds contempt.'"
The 28-year-old also touched on the role he thinks women should play, saying that while many female graduates might "go on to lead successful careers in the world," he believes more of them are "most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world." According to the athlete, his wife Isabelle Butker "would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother."
Butker—who shares two children with Isabelle—additionally took aim at the LGBTQ+ community, saying that Pride Month is "the deadly sin sort of pride," and that the community promotes "dangerous gender ideologies."
He also added that while the COVID-19 pandemic "might've played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique."
"Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues," he continued. "Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values in media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder."
E! News reached out to reps for Swift, Butker and the Chiefs for comment but has yet to hear back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (63)
Related
- Jury finds man guilty of sending 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock
- Biden urges Democrats to pass slim health care bill after Manchin nixes climate action
- Florals For Spring That Are Groundbreaking, Thank You Very Much
- Floating in a rubber dinghy, a filmmaker documents the Indus River's water woes
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Go Inside the Love Lives of Stranger Things Stars
- Inflation and climate change tackled in new Senate deal that Biden calls 'historic'
- Climate Change And Record Breaking Heat Around The World
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- California will ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035
Ranking
- Hidden Home Gems From Kohl's That Will Give Your Space a Stylish Refresh for Less
- 11 more tips on how to stay cool without an A/C, recommended by NPR's readers
- Bear Grylls on how to S-T-O-P fighting fear in everyday life
- Shawn Mendes and Ex Camila Cabello Reunite at Coachella 2023
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- As a heat wave blankets much of the U.S., utilities are managing to keep up, for now
- Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny Cozy Up at Coachella 2023
- Kylie Jenner Rocks Chic Style at Coachella: Look Back at the Kardashian-Jenners' Best Festival Looks
Recommendation
Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
Fires scorch France and Spain as temperature-related deaths soar
Ecologists say federal wildfire plans are dangerously out of step with climate change
Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native heading to Congress, journeys home to the river
Kourtney Kardashian Cradles 9-Month-Old Son Rocky in New Photo
Meet the teenager who helped push Florida toward cleaner energy
A Northern California wildfire has injured several people and destroyed homes
Influencer Camila Coehlo Shares the Important Reason She Started Saying No