Harrison Butker doubled down while speaking to local Kansas City media at training camp on his controversial comments made back in May during his Benedictine College commencement speech.
“In terms of what I said, I’ve prayed about it and thought about it, and I was really intentional behind what I said.”
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker added on Wednesday, when speaking to reporters, that his words came from “a place of love.”
“I’ve been in the league now seven years and I do have a platform,” said Butker. “So with that comes people that want me to state what I believe to be very important.”
In his May speech at Benedictine, a private, Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, Butker said the women receiving their degrees were most likely more excited to get married and have children, criticized President Joe Biden for his stance on abortion and his handling of the COVID pandemic, and went after Catholic leaders who he said were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America,” while describing Pride Month as a “deadly sin.”
“I only want the best for people; that’s what I was trying to say there. I think the people that were in that gymnasium all understood what I was saying.”
Although a video of the commencement showed a standing ovation, student interviews showed a more mixed reaction.
Elle Wilbers, 22, who is heading to medical school, said she was shocked by Butker’s criticism of priests and bishops and his reference to the LGBTQ+ community, which she described as “horrible.”
“We should have compassion for the people who have been told all their life that the person they love is not OK,” Wilbers said.
Kassidy Neuner, 22, who will spend a gap year teaching before going to law school, said being a stay-at-home parent is “a wonderful decision, [but] it’s also not for everybody.”
“There’s also the option to be a mother and a career woman,” she added.
The Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, one of the founding sponsors of Benedictine College, issued a statement criticizing Butker’s speech, contending it did not properly represent the college’s values.
“Instead of promoting unity in our church, our nation, and the world, his comments seem to have fostered division,” the statement said.
“One of our concerns was the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman,” it added. “We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God’s people, including the many women whom we have taught. These women have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given gifts in leadership, scholarship, and their careers.”
