NFL’s Harrison Butker is slammed for speech on girls, abortion : NPR

Kansas Metropolis Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker stirred controversy off the sector this weekend when he instructed a university graduating class that one of many “most important titles” a lady can maintain is “homemaker.”

Butker denounced abortion rights, Delight Month, COVID-19 lockdowns and “the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion” in his graduation handle at Benedictine School, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kan.

The 28-year-old, a religious Catholic and father of two, additionally railed in opposition to “dangerous gender ideologies” and urged males to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men.” At one level, he addressed girls particularly.

“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, how many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career,” he mentioned. “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 began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” Butker mentioned.

The 20-minute speech has been seen greater than 455,000 instances on YouTube since Saturday and generated appreciable backlash — and memes — on social media, particularly from folks crucial of his views on girls. Many identified that Butker’s personal mother is a scientific medical physicist.

Butker additionally drew ire from followers of Taylor Swift, who’s relationship fellow Chiefs participant Travis Kelce, a relationship that has famously helped deliver many new feminine followers to the NFL. Later within the speech, he quoted Swift — although not by identify — whereas speaking about what he sees as the issue of clergymen turning into “overly familiar” with their parishioners.

“This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time, because as my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt,’ ” he mentioned, quoting a lyric from her track Bejeweled.

One Swift fan account joked about petitioning for the pop star to switch Butker because the Chiefs’ kicker. An actual on-line petition, calling for the Chiefs to dismiss Butker for his “sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion and racist remarks,” has gained 95,000 signatures and counting since Monday.

Butker and the group haven’t commented publicly on his speech and the backlash to it, although late Wednesday the NFL issued an announcement distancing itself from it.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior VP and chief range and inclusion officer instructed NPR on Thursday. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”

What else did Butker say?

Butker has been vocal about his religion, telling the Everlasting Phrase Tv Community in 2019 that he grew up Catholic however practiced much less in highschool and faculty earlier than rediscovering his perception later in life.

Final 12 months, Butker appeared in an advert for the nonprofit Catholic Vote urging Kansans to help a referendum that will restrict abortion rights within the state (it was in the end unsuccessful). He is additionally certainly one of a number of athletes who has partnered with a Catholic prayer app. And days after the Chiefs received this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl, Butker spent per week “in reflection” at a monastery in California.

He additionally gave the graduation handle at his alma mater Georgia Tech final 12 months, during which he urged college students to “get married and start a family.”

This time round, Butker began his speech by suggesting he had been reluctant to offer it: He mentioned he initially turned down the president’s invitation as a result of he felt that one graduation speech was sufficient, “especially for someone who isn’t a professional speaker.”

He was persuaded, he mentioned, partially by management’s argument about what number of milestones graduating seniors had missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a group, you witnessed firsthand how bad leaders who don’t stay in their lane can have a negative impact on society,” he mentioned in his opening remarks. “It is through this lens that I want to take stock of how we got to where we are and where we want to go as citizens, and yes, as Catholics.”

He criticized President Biden for his dealing with of the pandemic and his stance on abortion, which he mentioned falsely suggests folks can concurrently be “both Catholic and pro-choice.”

Butker blamed “the pervasiveness of disorder” for the supply of procedures like abortion, IVF, surrogacy and euthanasia, in addition to “a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media.”

At one level, he referenced an Related Press article from earlier this month in regards to the revival of conservative Catholicism that prominently featured Benedictine School for example.

The varsity of roughly 2,000 will get high rankings from the Cardinal Newman Society, a nonprofit that promotes Catholic training within the U.S., for insurance policies together with providing each day mass and prohibiting campus audio system who “publicly oppose Catholic moral teaching.”

“I am certain the reporters at the AP could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine wouldn’t be met with anger, but instead with excitement and pride,” Butker mentioned, earlier than making an obvious reference to LGBTQ Delight Month in June.

“Not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it,” he mentioned, as laughter could possibly be heard from the gang.

How are folks responding?

The official YouTube video of Butker’s speech reveals the gang standing and applauding on the finish, although the AP studies that reactions amongst graduates have been combined. A number of instructed the outlet they have been shocked by his feedback about girls, clergymen and LGTBQ folks.

Kassidy Neuner instructed the AP that the speech felt “degrading,” suggesting that solely girls might be homemakers.

“To point this out specifically that that’s what we’re looking forward to in life seems like our four years of hard work wasn’t really important,” mentioned Neuner, who’s planning on attending regulation college.

Butker’s feedback have gotten some help, together with on social media from soccer fan accounts and Christian and conservative media personalities.

“Christian men should be preaching this regularly,” tweeted former NFL participant T.J. Moe. “Instead, it’s so taboo that when someone tells the obvious truth that anyone who holds a biblical worldview believes, it’s national news.”

Nonetheless, different public figures — together with musicians Maren Morris and Flava Flav — have been fast to disagree.

Even the official Kansas Metropolis account weighed in, tweeting on Wednesday that Butker resides not there however in a neighboring suburb, Lee’s Summit. The tweet has since been deleted and the account apologized for the tweet.

Kansas Metropolis Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted that he believed Butker holds a “minority viewpoint” within the state however defended his proper to precise it.

“Grown folks have opinions, even if they play sports,” he wrote. “I disagree with many, but I recognize our right to different views.”

Justice Horn, the previous chair of Kansas Metropolis’s LGBTQ Fee, was extra crucial, writing on X (previously Twitter) that “Harrison Butker doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever.” He referred to as town one which “welcomes, affirms and embraces our LGBQ+ community members.”

The Los Angeles Chargers additionally trolled Butker in its Sims-style schedule launch video on Wednesday, which ends with a shot of his animated, quantity 7 jersey-wearing character cooking and arranging flowers in a kitchen.