Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker sparked an uproar when he spoke at Benedictine College, a Catholic school, and described how his wife’s decision to be a homemaker impacted his family for the better. Though the left has gone wild trying to torpedo him in the aftermath, numerous high-profile defenders have stepped in, including, recently, the Chiefs’ coach, Andy Reid, and quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
As background, Butker encouraged the women present to see the importance of being a homemaker. Beginning, he said women had been lied to, 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.”
Coach Reid, during a Wednesday, May 22 press conference, was asked about the speech and Butker. Responding, he said, “We’re a microcosm of life here. Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races. And so we all get along, we all respect each other’s opinions. And not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice. It’s the great thing about America, man. And we’re just … a microcosm of that. My wish is that everybody could follow that.”
Continuing, he explained how the team is in agreement that players should be allowed to speak freely about issues, as that’s the American way. He said, “The guys are good with that. They understand. They understand how things work. Everybody’s got their own opinion; that’s what’s so great about this country. You can share those things, and you work through it. And that’s what guys do.”
Then, when a reporter pressed him and claimed Butker spoke “ill” of women, Reid fired back. He said, thundering at the reporter, whose comment was mischaracterizing Butker’s speech and comments, “He has his opinions and we all respect that. I let you guys [the media] in this room and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like.”
Watch Coach Reid here:
https://x.com/outkick/status/1793362941628039581?s=12
Joining in, QB Patrick Mahomes said, “That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family, and wants to make a good impact in society. When you’re in the locker room, there’s a lot of people from a lot of different areas of life, and they have a lot of different views on everything, and we’re not always gonna agree.”
Mahomes continued, “There are certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is, and he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction,” he added. “It might not be the same values as I have, but at the same time, I’m gonna judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a great person.”
Watch Mahomes here:
https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1793365394654417064
Featured image credit: By All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA – Patrick Mahomes, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112095786
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