Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in a recent commencement speech and said he received support as well as a ‘shocking level of hatred’ from others.
Butker spoke Friday night at the Regina Caeli Academy’s Courage Under Fire Gala in Nashville, Tennessee.
He made his first public comments since his recent controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he said most female graduates were probably more enthusiastic about getting married and having children. children ; argued that some Catholic leaders were “imposing dangerous gender ideologies on American youth”; refers to a “kind of pride of mortal sin to which a month is devoted” in an oblique reference to Pride Month; and took aim at President Joe Biden’s policies, including his condemnation of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade from 1973.
“Over the past few days, my beliefs or what people think of me have been the focus of countless discussions around the world,” Butker said Friday. “At first, many people expressed a shocking level of hatred. But as the days passed, even those who disagreed with my views shared their support for my religious freedom.
Butker said he understands being criticized for his performance on the field. The 28-year-old said he values his religion more than .
“It’s a decision I made consciously and one I don’t regret at all,” he said.
The NFL distanced itself from Butker’s comments. The league said the comments and “opinions are not those of the NFL as an organization.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said the three-time Super Bowl winner is entitled to his beliefs, even if he doesn’t always agree with them.
Speaking about Butker on his “New Heights” podcast, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he cherished Butker as a teammate.
“When it comes to his opinions and what he said in the opening speech, those are his,” Kelce said. “I can’t say I agree with the majority of things or pretty much anything other than the simple fact that he loves his family and his children. And I don’t think I should judge him on his views, especially his religious views, on how to live life, that’s just not who I am.
Kelce produces the podcast with his brother Jason, who recently retired after a stellar career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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