Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
NFL Distances from Chiefs Kicker Butker's Commencement Remarks
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 months ago on
May 17, 2024

The NFL distances itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's comments at Benedictine College, where he made controversial remarks about women, Pride month, and President Biden's abortion policies. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL is distancing itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, saying “his views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”

Butker appeared as the commencement speaker last week at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school in Kansas, and said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children.

Butker also said some Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.”

NFL Senior VP Speaks on Issue

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said in a statement released Thursday. “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.”

The three-time Super Bowl champion delivered his roughly 20-minute address Saturday at the school in Atchison, Kansas, which is located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) miles north of Kansas City. He received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.

Butker, who’s made his conservative Catholic beliefs well known, also assailed Pride month, a particularly important time for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion.

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker added in his speech.

“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, 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. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he said.

Butker, 28, said his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all. Homemaker.“

Butker also criticized as disparaging to the Catholic Church an article by The Associated Press highlighting a shift toward conservativism in some parts of the church.

Butker also referred to a “deadly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it” in an oblique reference to Pride month. Butker also took aim at Biden’s policies, including his condemnation of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and advocacy for abortion rights — a key campaign issue in the 2024 presidential race.

The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Georgia Tech has become of the NFL’s best kickers, breaking the Chiefs’ franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022. Butker helped them win their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, added a second Lombardi Trophy in 2023, and he kicked the field goal that forced overtime in a Super Bowl win over San Francisco in February.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

UP NEXT

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

UP NEXT

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

UP NEXT

Opening Ceremony Floats Down Seine as Paris Investigates Rail Sabotage

UP NEXT

US Viewers’ Olympic Interest Is Down, Poll Finds, Except for Simone Biles

UP NEXT

Dylan Cease Throws Second No-Hitter in San Diego Padres History

UP NEXT

Is 49ers’ Kittle the NFL’s Best Tight End?

UP NEXT

Oakland All-Star Closer Mason Miller Breaks Left Pinky Finger Pounding Training Table in Frustration

UP NEXT

Kershaw Returns From Shoulder Surgery, Ohtani Hits 31st Homer, Dodgers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Arson Attacks Cause Travel Chaos Before Start of Olympics in Paris, Thwarting Athletes’ Travel

UP NEXT

Canada Women’s Soccer Coach Removed by Canadian Olympic Committee

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

7 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

8 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

8 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

8 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

9 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

9 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

9 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

10 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

10 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

10 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

The arch of colorful balloons over the doorway of a storefront on Shaw Avenue in Clovis was a clue that something exciting was happening on ...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

7 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

7 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

7 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

8 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

8 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

8 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

9 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend