It was time to officially confront kicker Harrison Butker’s contentious graduating speech at Benedictine College, as the Kansas City Chiefs convened in the city for their OTAs this week.
It was time to officially confront kicker Harrison Butker’s contentious graduating speech at Benedictine College, as the Kansas City Chiefs convened in the city for their OTAs this week. The Chiefs players felt compelled to respond to the criticism that followed Butker’s comments on gender roles and women’s empowerment, as the issue has become so prominent in the media.
Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes did the same earlier this week. They both answered basically the same way: an NFL team is full of people who have different perspectives than you, and while you may not personally agree with Butker’s viewpoints, it’s still necessary to respect them all. Travis Kelce was on the field on Friday.
The All-Pro tight end talked about his teammate’s remarks on the most recent New Heights podcast episode with his brother Jason in the next room. Although Kelce disagrees with Butker on most, if not all, of his points, he claims he won’t hold Butker accountable. He then discussed his upbringing and how it affected the way he saw the circumstances.
This is the audio recording of the portion when Kelce responds to the remarks; the pertinent passages are captioned underneath.
“I’ve known Butker for more than seven or eight years. He is a teammate that I treasure. Pat (Mahomes), who is both a fantastic colleague and a wonderful guy, really stated it best, in my opinion. He has handled family and friends well. I’ve just shown him courtesy and respect thus far.
The All-Pro tight end talked about his teammate’s remarks on the most recent New Heights podcast episode with his brother Jason in the next room. Although Kelce disagrees with Butker on most, if not all, of his points, he claims he won’t hold Butker accountable. He then discussed his upbringing and how it affected the way he saw the circumstances.
This is the audio recording of the portion when Kelce responds to the remarks; the pertinent passages are captioned underneath.
“I’ve known Butker for more than seven or eight years. He is a teammate that I treasure. Pat (Mahomes), who is both a fantastic colleague and a wonderful guy, really stated it best, in my opinion. He has handled family and friends well. I’ve just shown him courtesy and respect thus far.
“His opinions, as expressed in his graduating speech at Benedictine College, are his own. Apart from the fact that he merely loves his family and his children, I can’t say I agree with most of it. I don’t think I should evaluate someone based on their beliefs on how to live, particularly if they are religious. I simply am not that person.
“I had a wonderful upbringing in Cleveland Heights, surrounded by people of many social backgrounds, faiths, races, and ethnicities. I cherished Cleveland Heights for what it was because of this. It gave me a wide range of perspectives on many different facets of life. I valued each and every one of
I never once felt the need to condemn those people because of their views because we were there for different reasons.
“My family? Both my father and mother supported our family. My father and mother were the ones who created our home. They were amazing at being there for me each and every day of my life. They were also homemakers and providers. That, in my opinion, was a lovely upbringing. While I believe that not everyone should parent in the same manner as my parents did, I sincerely appreciate and respect my parents for being able to care for and ensure that home was what it was.”
Since Kelce is dating Taylor Swift, who is arguably the most famous person in the world at the moment and one of the most successful musicians in history, there was always going to be a far bigger spotlight on him than on anyone else when it came to this topic. It is clear that he accepted his responsibilities, and speaking candidly about them on his podcast allowed Kelce greater latitude than he would have had in front of a group of reporters at the Chiefs stadium.
Although not everyone will agree with Kelce’s approach, he cannot be accused of being mute.
