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 the commencement speaker at Benedictine College.
The devout Christian used the opportunity to give some radical thoughts and controversial opinions during a 20-minute speech delivered at the ceremony honoring the 485 students graduating from the Catholic private liberal arts school in Atchison, Kan., on Saturday.
Butker, 28, told the male graduates to “be unapologetic in your masculinity.”
He congratulated the female graduates on their “amazing accomplishment” before telling them, “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.”
Butker then told those women that “my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on this stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.”
He then started getting choked up.
“I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me,” Butker said, “but it cannot be overstated that all 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.”
That statement was met with 18 seconds of enthusiastic cheers and applause. Butker continued praising his wife and her role in their family.
“She’s the primary educator to our children. She’s the one who ensures I never let football or my business become a distraction from that of a husband and a father. She is the person that knows me best at my core and it is through our marriage that, Lord willing, we both will attain salvation.”
During his opening remarks, Butker stated that “things like abortion, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media, all stem 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 to many people it appears you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.”
At one point, Butker mentioned the word “pride” — then clarified that he wasn’t talking about “the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify Him.”
The comment, a jab at the LGBTQ+ community that celebrates Pride Month every June, received a few chuckles from the audience.
When Butker finished his address, the crowd rose for an ovation. A video of the speech posted on the college’s YouTube channel fades before it is clear whether anyone refrained from standing.
Butker has not commented publicly since the address. His previous social media posts are being used by people leaving comments both blasting and supporting his remarks. 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 statements and did not immediately respond to multiple messages from The Times. The college’s social media feeds have been flooded with angry comments regarding Butker’s speech, and the comment section for the YouTube video of it has been disabled.
An article on Benedictine College’s website about the commencement ceremony had initially referred to Butker’s speech as “inspiring.” The uncredited piece includes a reworked version of Butker’s “homemaker” quote that does not include that word, with no indication that the quote had 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, advising the graduates to “get married and start a family.”
