According to conservative-leaning, sports-focused media outlet Outkick, women’s NFL jerseys with Harrison Butker’s name and number sold out on Friday, May 17, after Butker’s viral and controversial speech at Benedictine College had taken off and dominated online discourse, with people arguing over whether Butker’s speech was helpful, Christian advice or outdated and offensive.
As background, Butker encouraged the women present to see the importance of being a homemaker. Beginning, he said women had been lied too, saying, “For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.”
Continuing, he explained how his wife’s decision to be a homemaker rather than a cog in a corporate machine was a highly impactful one, saying, “How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? 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 began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
Describing how her decision significantly helped their family, he said, “I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”
After that speech, as controversy swirled over the speech, Butker’s jersey rocketed up in p on the NFL’s website and seemed to be reaching heights of popularity that, without the context of the speech, would be odd for an NFL kicker, even after his team won this year’s Super Bowl. That increased popularity was noticed on Thursday the 16th of May.
Then, on Friday the 17th, Outkick reported that the women’s version of Harrison Butker’s Kansas City Chiefs jersey was out of stock. “The jersey shot up the best-selling rankings at the NFL store Thursday, and as of publication Friday, all of the women’s jerseys are out of stock,” Outkick reported. Here is an image Outkick provided of the jersey being out of stock:
Further, Outkick noted that even the custom option appeared to be out of stock. It reported, “Even attempting to build a custom women’s jersey from a blank one with Butker’s name and number only gives a small as an option. The same is true for all custom female jerseys, which would indicate blank jerseys aren’t kept well-stocked.”
The popularity of Butker’s jersey comes even after Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, responded, “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. 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.”
Watch part of Butker’s speech here:
Featured image credit: By Airman 1st Class William Lunn – https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7984088/chiefs-military-appreciation, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=136494880
"*" indicates required fields