Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was disavowed by the NFL for comments in a Benedictine College graduation speech exalting the beneft of traditional mens and women’s roles and the intrinsic and social rewards of family life and faith.
The National Football League is full of wife beaters, drunk drivers, and womanizers, but the league is offering its harshest words to a man who is a devout Catholic, faithful husband, and devoted father.
In a statement this week, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane denounced Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker for a commencement speech he gave at Benedictine College in Atchison, where he extolled the virtues of getting married and having children while living out the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Beane said. “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.”
Here’s the apparently uninclusive remarks that Butker gave to an audience of Catholic graduates, as a Catholic himself:
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker said. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most 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 started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” He also offered a passing remark that was critical of (gay) Pride Month.
That the NFL would see fit to issue a public statement in response to a Catholic player giving a commencement address with Catholic themes at a Catholic college is astonishing, especially given how silent the league typically is about player conduct.
Rashee Rice, a teammate of Butker’s, has faced a tumultuous offseason of his own making. Rice was arrested after a multivehicle crash occurred in Texas. He is also under investigation in connection to the assault of a photographer at a Dallas nightclub. But while the NFL has time to comment on Butker’s commencement address to a Catholic college, it has no interest in weighing in on another Chiefs player who is accused of multiple crimes.
But the irony of the league’s statement is that it is deliberately exclusive. Butker gave a speech that was well received by its Catholic audience, many of whom are no doubt fans of the Chiefs and other NFL teams. Implicit in Beane’s statement is a disrespect for those who adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church and hold traditional beliefs about family.
In a letter to the NFL, the organization CatholicVote called out this inconsistency.
“We understand not every American, or NFL fan for that matter, may share the same opinions or beliefs as Mr. Butker,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch wrote. “We are hopeful, however, that you do not intend to send a message to Catholics, or to those that still uphold basic moral tenets of a civilized society, that they are outsiders and no longer welcome. To paraphrase a famous quote from NBA star Michael Jordan, ‘Catholics watch NFL games, too.’”
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If the NFL is serious about being a league for everyone, it should first start with taking a stronger stance against players who commit actual crimes and do more to harm the league’s image than any commencement address to a Catholic college could. Secondly, it should publicly affirm that those who adhere to the Catholic faith and all of its tenets, including Butker, are a welcome part of the NFL community.
The league should start by following the lead of Butker’s teammate, Chris Jones, who, in a post on X, stood by his teammate amid the controversy and said, “I love you [Butker]! My brotha.”
