It is the time of year for college graduations, and with that comes commencement speakers. Some provide inspiring speeches, and others trend for all the wrong reasons. The latter happened on May 11 when Harrison Butker spoke at Benedictine College. Harrison Butker is a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In his twenty-minute speech, he said many, many demoralizing things. Some of the worst things he did were calling Pride Month a “deadly sin”, criticizing Joe Biden for “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America”, and how “Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.” The main thing that stood out about his speech was his direct message to women. “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,” he said to the women in the room. He told them that the most important thing they could do and the most important title they could have is a “homemaker”. What is especially aggravating about this is in his speech he quoted Taylor Swift, who is a feminist. The way he quoted her, also discredits her, saying, “As my teammate’s girlfriend says: ‘Familiarity breeds contempt,’” as if she isn’t important enough to have her name spoken.
The speech has received lots of criticism. The nuns of the college put out a statement saying “The sisters of Mount St. Scholastica do not believe that Harrison Butker’s comments in his 2024 Benedictine College commencement address represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested”. The NFL has also responded, with Jonathan Beane, the league’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, saying that the athlete’s views “are not those of the NFL as an organization.” and “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger”. Commissioner Roger Goodell said “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. 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.” The quarterback for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, said that he knows Harrison and that he is a good person whose views I don’t agree with. Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Chiefs and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend echoed that. While both sounded a little too apologetic, they had the right idea. Andy Reid started his comment off decent saying, “I talk to Harrison all the time, I didn’t talk to him about this. I didn’t think I needed to. We’re a microcosm of life here. We’re from different areas, different religions, different races. We all get along. We all respect each other’s opinions. And not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice.” However, when asked about how he talked to women, Reid said “I don’t think he was speaking ill to women,” Reid added. “But he has his opinions, and we all respect that. I let you guys in this room, and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like.” That response was not what it should have been.
This speech was harmful to many, and Harrison Butker doesn’t seem to mind as he said “It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all” during a Catholic homeschooling association’s gala in Nashville, Tennessee.” The NFL may be trying to grow its female audience, but this is not going to help.
