Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker did not walk back any of the comments he made in his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College last May.
During a Super Bowl opening night news conference Monday, Butker was asked if any of the views he shared in the speech – which included alluding to homosexuality as a ‘deadly sins sort of pride’ and that one of a woman’s most important roles is that of ‘homemaker’ – had changed after the initial controversy and response.
The answer, apparently, was no. Butker instead mentioned that his speech ‘opened up a lot of good conversations’ with teammates and that ‘all the guys understood where I was coming from.’
‘God has given me this platform and I’m going to say what I believe to be true and what I hold close to my heart,’ Butker said at Super Bowl opening night. ‘(My Chiefs teammates) respect me. They respect what I have to say. And I have nothing to apologize for.’
Some of those teammates, like quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, were diplomatic in their responses in the days immediately after the controversial speech. Neither player backed up Butker’s views outright but instead focused on his character. Mahomes called him a ‘good person,’ and Kelce said he was ‘every bit of a great person and great teammate.’
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Head coach Andy Reid shared a similar sentiment; he didn’t fully back Butker – though Reid did say he didn’t ‘think he was speaking ill to women’ – while saying the kicker was free to have his own opinions.
In the immediate aftermath of Butker’s commencement speech, the NFL also distanced itself from his comments. Jonathan Beane, the league’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said in a statement that ‘(Butker’s) views are not those of the NFL’ and that the league was ‘steadfast to our commitment of inclusion.’
Still, Butker said Monday that he maintains the same perspective that he initially shared last May, even in the wake of the immediate and lasting backlash. He said his decision to publicly share those views in the first place was a matter of confidence and that the ‘outside noise’ has not deterred him since.
‘In order for me to share that message, I had to be confident. I’m a husband and a father before anything else,’ Butker said. ‘I love playing football with the guys, but sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by outside noise.
‘In some ways, it’s not reality. It’s not conversations we have with neighbors. Sometimes we have to detach from social media because it can feel like the whole world is coming at you. Everyone experiences that on different scales. We have to focus on what’s most important.’
Butker and the Chiefs will kick off Super Bowl 59 against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.