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Georgia native and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker criticized Pride Month along with from President Biden leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his stance on abortion during a commencement speech at Benedictine College last weekend.
Butker also said the “most important title” for women should be “homemaker.”
Butker is a native of Decatur, Georgia, who graduated from Westminster High School before playing for Georgia Tech, finishing as the school’s all-time leading scorer. according his bio on the Georgia Tech website.
The three-time Super Bowl champion delivered the roughly 20-minute speech Saturday at the private Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, located about 60 miles north of Kansas City.
Butker, who has made her conservative Catholic beliefs known, began her speech by attacking what she called “dangerous gender ideologies” in an apparent reference to Pride Month, which has been celebrated in June since the Stonewall riots of 1969. She also criticized a Associated Press article highlighting a shift toward conservatism in some parts of the Catholic Church.
Butker, 28, then took aim at Biden’s policies, including his response to COVID-19, which has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“While COVID may have played a role during its formative years, it is not unique,” he said. “Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted important life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as growing support for degenerate cultural values and media, arise from the omnipresence of disorder.”
Butker then addressed the women in the audience, arguing that their “most important title” should be “housewife.”
“I think it’s you women who have been told the most diabolical lies,” Butker said. “Some of you may go on to have successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that most of you are more 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 began when she began to live her calling as a wife and mother.”
The Chiefs declined to comment on Butker’s commencement speech.
The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Georgia Tech has become one of the NFL’s best kickers, breaking the Chiefs’ franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022. Butker helped them win their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, added a second Lombardi Trophy in 2023, and kicked the field goal that forced overtime in the Super Bowl victory over San Francisco in February.
However, it has been an embarrassing offseason for the Chiefs.
Last month, voters in Jackson County, Missouri, resoundingly rejected a ballot initiative that would have helped pay for a downtown stadium for the Royals and an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Chiefs. Many voters criticized the plan presented by the Chiefs for being aimed primarily at wealthy and important people.
The same week, wide receiver Rashee Rice turned himself in to Dallas police on multiple charges, including aggravated assault, after being involved in a high-speed crash that left four people injured. Rice has acknowledged being the driver of one of the sports cars that was going more than 100 mph, and the video shows him leaving the scene without providing information or determining whether anyone needed medical attention.
Last week, law enforcement officials told The Dallas Morning News that Rice was also suspected of assaulting a person at a downtown nightclub; Dallas police did not name Rice as a suspect in detailing a report to The Associated Press.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he had spoken with the receiver and the team was letting the legal process play out.
WABE News contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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