Why Chiefs’ Harrison Butker says he doesn’t regret words from May commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker says he’s read plenty of feedback from others following his now-famous commencement speech at Benedictine College in May.
None of that reaction, however, has changed his thoughts about what he said that day.
“I prayed about it, and I thought about it, and I was very intentional with what I said, and I stand behind what I said,” Butker said Wednesday, during his first interview with reporters since the speech. “And I really believe if people knew me as a person and understood that I was coming from a place of love and not a place of trying to attack or put people down, that I only want the best for people, and that’s what I was trying to say there. I think the people that were in that gymnasium all understood what I was saying.”
Butker gained national attention following the commencement address in mid-May at Benedictine, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas. During his talk, Butker spoke directly to women graduates while breaking down at one point while talking about his wife, Isabelle. He said then that Isabelle would be the first to say “her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on this stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.”
He later said it could not be overstated that his success was made possible because “the girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”
The speech has drawn both praise and criticism while focusing additional attention on the Chiefs.
Butker said Wednesday that his earlier words were not meant to disparage women who enter the workforce.
“My whole career, I’ve talked about how I’m a husband and I’m a father before it comes to me as a kicker. It’s something I’ve always preached,” Butker said. “But then when I use that to talk about women, and I say that they should embrace and love being wives and being mothers over their career, I think then it gets construed that I’m trying to put women down, which I’m not at all. I love women. I love my wife, and it comes from a place of love.”
Butker’s focus on love during Wednesday’s interview session differed from the tone he often took during his commencement address in May.
In his 20-minute speech at Benedictine, Butker at one point referred to President Joe Biden as “delusional” for proclaiming his Catholic faith while also making the Sign of the Cross during a pro-abortion rally.
Butker also appeared to reference the LGBTQ community when he alluded to a “deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.” Shortly after, the president of GLAAD — the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization — responded in a statement to say Butker’s words were “inaccurate, ill-informed, and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women.”
Famous tennis player Serena Williams also fired back at Butker on stage during July’s ESPY Awards when Butker was in attendance. After Serena’s sister, Venus, urged viewers to enjoy the growth of women’s sports, Serena responded by saying, “Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.”
Butker said Wednesday he appreciated the public support afterward from Patrick Mahomes; the Chiefs quarterback said in May that he didn’t agree with Butker’s words but would “judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a good person.”
“That meant a lot to me, for him to say that,” Butker said. “And I want people to know that no matter what I say, it might be the complete opposite of you, I’m still going to love you no matter what your opinions are, no matter how different we may be. I’m going to love you, and we’re going to get along and probably be good friends.”
Butker, who signed a four-year extension with the team earlier this week, said he hesitated to do the Benedictine speech when first asked. He described himself as “an introvert; I don’t really like the attention.”
After some thought, though, he believed using his standing as an NFL player could help him convey his own views to others.
“I decided, if I’m going to go up and give a 20-minute speech, I’m going to pray about this, I’m going to prepare over months for this speech, and I’m going to stand behind what it is I’m saying,” Butker said. “And I kind of look at the offseason as a little bit of maybe a five-month period where I can just represent me as Harrison Butker, as a faithful Catholic. And then obviously, when it gets to the season, I try to focus as much as I can on football and not being a distraction from the Chiefs.”
Butker said he’d been encouraged by locker-room discussions since his comments. He believes teammates have become closer because of the talks they’ve had on the topic.
“I think we are living in a better world if people are open, and they’re not afraid to share their viewpoints,” Butker said. “And I feel like, again, seven years in the league, having this platform, I’ve just decided, ‘You know what? There’s things that I believe wholeheartedly that I think will make this world a better place, and I’m going to preach that, and if people don’t agree, they don’t agree.’
“But I’m going to continue to say what I believe to be true and love everyone along the way.”
