Georgia native and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker spoke at Benedictine College's graduation ceremony last weekend, highlighting President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his stance on abortion. He also strongly criticized Pride Month.
Butker also said that a woman's “most important title” should be “housewife.”
Butker, a native of Decatur, Georgia, graduated from Westminster High School and played at Georgia Tech, where he was the school's all-time leading scorer, according to his biography on the school's website.
The three-time Super Bowl champion gave a roughly 20-minute speech Saturday at a private Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, about 90 miles north of Kansas City.
Mr. Butker, who is well known for his conservative Catholic beliefs, said he called himself “a dangerous gender activist” in an apparent reference to Pride Month, which has been celebrated in June since the 1969 Stonewall riots. He began his speech by attacking what he called “ideology.” An article by the Associated Press highlights a shift toward conservatism in parts of the Catholic Church.
Butker, 28, then took aim at Biden's policies, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“COVID-19 may have played a big role throughout your formative years, but it is not unique,” he says. “Bad policies and poor leadership are having a negative impact on major life issues: abortion, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, euthanasia, and growing support for corrupt cultural values and media. All of this is due to widespread disorder.”
Butker then addressed the women in the audience and insisted that their “most important title” should be “housewife.”
“I think it's you, the women, who have told the most diabolical lies,” Butker said. “While some of you may go on to have successful careers in the world, I would venture to guess that the vast majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into the world. I think my beautiful wife Isabelle is the first to say that life really began when she began fulfilling her duties as a wife and mother.
The Chiefs declined to comment on Butker's commencement address.
A seventh-round pick out of Georgia Tech in 2017, he broke the Chiefs franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022 to become the NFL's best kicker. Butker added that he helped the Chiefs win their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020. He won his second Lombardi Trophy in 2023 and kicked a field goal that forced overtime against San Francisco in the Super Bowl in February.
But it was an embarrassing offseason for the Chiefs.
Last month, voters in Jackson County, Missouri, flatly rejected a ballot plan that would have funded the construction of the Royals' downtown ballpark and an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Chiefs. Many voters criticized the Chiefs' proposed plan as being aimed primarily at VIPs and the wealthy.
That same week, wide receiver Lachie Rice turned himself in to Dallas police on multiple charges, including aggravated assault, after he was involved in a high-speed crash that injured four people. Rice admitted he was the driver of one of the sports cars that were traveling at speeds in excess of 160 mph, and the video shows Rice not providing any information. , he is seen leaving the scene without determining whether anyone needs medical attention.
Last week, law enforcement officials told the Dallas Morning News that Rice is also suspected of assaulting someone at a downtown nightclub. Dallas police did not name Rice as a suspect in a detailed report to The Associated Press.
Chiefs manager Andy Reid was on the phone and said the team is proceeding with the legal process.
WABE News contributed to this report.
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