Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker certainly ruffled a few feathers with his commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. So much so that the NFL is officially distancing itself from it.
In a statement, the NFL made it clear that Butker’s statements are his and his alone. They do not reflect the opinions of the NFL.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told 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.”
So what made Butker so controversial? Well, he touched on topics such as abortion, female rights, and even the pandemic. For instance, he discussed priests with these comments below.
“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.'”
Harrison Butker Draws Controversy With ‘Misogynistic’ Speech
He then specifically spoke to the female graduates in the room, suggesting they should be excited to raise kids and get married.
“For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment,” he began. “I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.”
He continued, “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.”
The backlash was so intense that even Flavor Flav called out Butker. The rapper told him to stay in his lane. “Sounds like some players ‘need to stay in their lanes’ and shouldn’t be giving commencement speeches,” he wrote on social media.
Besides women’s rights, Butker also touched on the pandemic, saying it “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.”