NFL Releases Statement After Chiefs Star Harrison Butker Gives Controversial Speech About Women and Pride Month

The NFL remains committed to welcoming women and members of the LGBTQ+ community amid Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech.

On May 11, the 28-year-old spoke to graduates of Benedictine College and quickly faced backlash for suggesting women should not be in the workplace and calling Pride Month a sin deadly.

On Wednesday, NFL diversity chief Jonathan Beane told Outsports that Butker’s remarks do not reflect the league’s values.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Beane told Outsports in a written statement.

“His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” he continued. “The NFL is steadfast in its commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

NFL released statement after Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s controversial speech

NFL chief Jonathan Beane said Butker’s remarks do not reflect the league’s values.

During graduation speech, Butker criticized women and attacked the LGBTQ+ community

The NFL has maximized its efforts to create an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ fans and employees.

In doing so, the league released rainbow-inspired NFL Pride gear and hosted several Pride parties at the Super Bowl. They also released a video saying: “Football is gay. Football is weird. Football accepts’, in 2021.

Aside from the general outburst that accompanied his controversial statements, Butker outraged Taylor Swift fans by using his lyrics in an inflammatory speech.

“As my teammate’s girlfriend says: Familiarity breeds contempt,” Butker told the graduates. After learning of this mention, Swifties quickly hopped on social media to call out Butker for his post.

“Who’s going to tell Harrison Butker that you can’t quote Taylor Swift when you’re a misogynistic asshole,” one user wrote on X.

“Oh, Harrison Butker, I don’t think you understood the message of the Taylor Swift song you quoted,” another added. “Go listen to all his albums for homework.”

Always open about his conservative Catholic worldview, Butker insisted that women should stay home and raise their children instead of working. He also urged male students to “not apologize for their masculinity.”

Butker was criticized by Taylor Swift fans for using her lyrics in her inflammatory speech.

In his 20-minute speech, Butker also criticized US President Joe Biden for his support of abortion.

“To the ladies here today, congratulations on this incredible achievement,” Butker said in her 20-minute speech. “I want to speak to you directly because I think it is you women who have told the most evil lies. How many of you are sitting here now, about to take this step, and thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to achieve during your career?

“Some of you may go on to successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are very excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into the world.”

Butker added that his wife Isabelle “would be the first to say that her life truly began when she began to live out her calling as a wife and mother.” He then praised his partner for “(embracing) one of the most important titles of all: Housewife.”

“Fight against the cultural emasculation of men,” he urged the male graduates. “Part of what plagues our society is this lie you have been told that men are not needed in the home or in our communities. As men, we set the tone of culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction, and chaos take hold.