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NFL kicker Harrison Butker has issued a response after Serena Williams mocked his controversial views at the 2024 ESPY Awards.
The 28-year-old NFL star became the butt of jokes when the 42-year-old tennis champion hosted ESPN's annual awards show on July 11. During her monologue, Williams was joined by her older sister Venus Williams and Abbott Elementary School Actress Quinta Brunson will applaud female athletes in the United States.
“So go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sport, because they are sports,” Venus said, while her sister added: “Except for you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.”
Brunson agreed with both athletes' opinions of Butker, adding: “Absolutely not. Never.”
The moment, which was a mockery of Butker's conservative views on women, was met with applause by the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where the Kansas City Chiefs kicker was also in attendance, although his reaction was not shown on television.
Now, the footballer has responded to the viral ESPY moment in a statement to NBC Sports.
“I thought Ms. Williams was a great host and I applaud her for using her platform to express her beliefs on a variety of issues,” Butker told the outlet on July 12.
“Sports is supposed to be the great unifier and at an event dedicated to celebrating a diverse group of men and women who have accomplished great feats, she used it as an opportunity to disinvite those she disagrees with from supporting her fellow athletes.”
Butker sparked widespread backlash in May after delivering a controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. During her commencement address, she criticized President Joe Biden for his faith, attacked LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and suggested that women should prioritize motherhood over their careers.
Speaking directly to Benedictine College graduates of the Class of 2024, Butker claimed they had been told “evil lies” about their role in society. After encouraging them not to pursue a career, he referred to his personal experience, noting that his family was successful because his wife became a homemaker.
“Her life really began when she started living her calling as a wife and mother,” she said.
The Chiefs star also told the graduating crowd that “abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media” were a byproduct of “the pervasiveness of disorder.” He claimed Biden was only promoting the degeneration of these values by making it seem like “you can be Catholic and pro-choice at the same time.”
The commencement speech was met with immense criticism on social media, prompting Butker's teammates, including Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to speak out.
During an episode of Kelce New Heights In a podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, the 34-year-old athlete admitted he disagreed with what Butker said in the speech, but said he wouldn't judge his friend based on his religious views.
“I can’t say I agree with most of what he says, or much of anything, other than that he loves his family or his kids,” Kelce said. “And I don’t think you should judge him on his opinions, especially his religious opinions on how he lives his life. That’s not who I am.”
An NFL spokesman said People that Butker's views “are not those of the NFL as an organization.”
Shortly after her controversial speech, Butker doubled down on her comments at a gala hosted by a Catholic homeschooling organization, Regina Caeli Academy, where she serves on the board of directors.
“The theme for tonight’s gala, Courage Under Fire, was decided many months ago, but it now seems providential that this is the theme after what we have all witnessed these past two weeks,” Butker said at the May 24 event. “If it wasn’t clear that many hate timeless Catholic values, it is now.”
