The NFL has spoken out against Harrison Butker after the Kansas City Chiefs player’s controversial commencement address.
The 28-year-old kicker delivered a 20-minute speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, on Saturday (May 11).
During the graduation ceremony at the Catholic private liberal arts school, Butker told graduates that “poor leadership has negatively impacted major life issues”.
He also took aim at the LGBTQ+ community, working women, surrogacy, abortion rights, and more, drawing heavy criticism on social media.
Watch Butker’s speech below:
Butker, who has made his Catholic beliefs well known, began his address by mentioning that graduates started college at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but said that “while Covid might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique” before slamming “dangerous gender ideologies”.
“Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerative cultural values in media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder,” he told the audience.
He also spoke out against Pride month, which is an annual celebration designed to recognize the influence of the LGBTQ+ community, and said that the month was an example of the “deadly sins,” per The Independent.
In addition to this, the three-time Super Bowl champ addressed the women in the graduating class, advising them of their “most important title” which is being a “homemaker”.
“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,” he said. “I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
Butker also had a message for the male graduates, telling them to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and “fight against the cultural emasculation of men”.
He later referenced Taylor Swift’s 2022 song ‘Bejeweled,’ saying “as my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘familiarity breeds contempt.’”
The reception to Butker’s speech has not been positive, with many people on social media calling for the kicker to be removed from Kansas City’s football team.
One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: “This is atrocious. I hope someone with the Chiefs pulls him aside and instills empathy and humanity into him. Hell, cut his a**, too. As talented as he is, you can find a kicker that’s not [homophobic] and misogynistic pretty easily, I bet.”
Another user added: “So Colin Kaepernick gets blacklisted from the NFL for advocating for black lives, but Harrison Butker can give a misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic speech without a peep from the NFL, and I’m supposed to believe that it’s CONSERVATIVES that are getting ‘canceled’?????”
Former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn also blasted Butker in a post, penning, “Harrison Butker doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members.”
The NFL condemned the athlete’s speech, saying that his views differed from those of the organization.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer said in a statement issued to 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,” he added.
