Harrison Butker is a three-time Super Bowl champion and one of the most accurate field goal kickers in NFL history.
As such, the Kansas City Chiefs kicker was given a platform to express his views as a commencement speaker at Benedictine College.
The devout Christian took the opportunity to offer some radical thoughts and controversial opinions during a 20-minute speech given at the ceremony honoring the 485 students who graduated from the private Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, on Saturday.
Butker, 28, told the male graduates to “don't regret your masculinity.”
He congratulated the graduates on their “incredible achievement” before telling them: “I would venture to guess that most of you are very excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Butker then told those women that “my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly began when she began to live her calling as a wife and mother. I am on this stage today and I can be the man I am because I have a wife who supports her calling.”
Then he started to choke.
“I am beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me,” Butker said, “but it cannot be overstated that all of my success was possible because a girl I met in high school band class converted to the faith. , become my wife and embrace one of the most important titles of all: housewife.”
That statement was met with 18 seconds of enthusiastic cheers and applause. Butker went on to praise his wife and his role in his family.
“She is the primary educator of our children. She is the one who makes sure that she never allows football or my business to become a distraction from that of my husband and father. “She is the person who knows me best at my core and it is through our marriage that, God willing, we will both achieve salvation.”
During his opening remarks, Butker stated that “things like abortion, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as growing support for degenerate cultural values and media, all arise from the pervasiveness of disorder.” ”.
He also said that President Biden “has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I'm sure it seems to many people that you can be Catholic and pro-choice.”
At one point, Butker mentioned the word “pride” and then clarified that he was not referring to “the kind of deadly sins pride that an entire month is dedicated to, but to the true God-centered pride that cooperates with the Holy Ghost to glorify him.”
The comment, a swipe at the LGBTQ+ community that celebrates Pride Month each June, drew some laughter from the audience.
When Butker finished his speech, the crowd rose to a standing ovation. A video of the speech posted on the university's YouTube channel fades out before it is clear whether anyone refrained from standing.
Butker has not made public comments since the speech. His previous posts on social media are being used by people leaving explosive and supportive comments about his comments. Heavy.com reports that all images of Isabelle Butker have been removed from her husband's X and Instagram feeds in recent days.
Benedictine College has not publicly addressed Butker's controversial remarks and did not immediately respond to multiple messages from the Times. The university's social media has been flooded with angry comments about Butker's speech, and the YouTube video's comments section has been disabled.
An article on the Benedictine College website about the graduation ceremony initially referred to Butker's speech as “inspiring.” The uncredited piece includes a reworked version of Butker's “housewife” quote that does not include that word, with no indication that the quote has been altered.
The Chiefs did not respond to a request for comment from the Times.
Last year, Butker gave the commencement address at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, and advised graduates to “get married and start a family.”
