Jeering your most-hated sports team and their star player is a common occurrence for passionate sports fans but a commencement address about marriage and family by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has proven to be too much for many on the left.
Butker is up front and open about his Catholic faith and beliefs, so he seemed like a good match to speak to graduates at the conservative-minded Benedictine College, a small private Catholic college located in Atchison Kansas.
In the 20-minute speech on May 11, Butker urged the female graduates sitting in front of him to see their role as more than a college graduate pursuing a career. He encouraged them to embrace their God-given role as “homemaker,” too, using his wife Isabelle as an example as he held back tears while praising her.
A father of three children, Butker urged the male graduates to be good husbands and fathers, and to embrace the “masculinity” God created in men.
“As men we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in,” he said. “This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation.”
Butker dug into national politics, too. At one point he criticized President Joe Biden, a fellow Catholic, and made it clear he believes that some of the commander-in-chief’s comments and actions have violated the Catholic faith.
“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally,” Butker said, referring to a recent rally where Biden went viral for doing that very thing.
He continued, “He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure, to many people, it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.
Butker encouraged the audience to cling to their faith and truly understand its key tenets.
The Associated Press reports that Butker received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.
Butker’s address predictably prompted a left wing group to start a petition calling for him to be fired by the Chiefs. Then the X account maintained by the City of Kansas City doxed him in a now-deleted post that named the town he lives in. He even was condemned by the NFL, where the league’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion officer said his views “do not reflect those of the NFL.”
The conservative-hating, all-woman panel on “The View” joined in the pile-on, too. Joy Behar opined that he had “mother issues” and should “get a therapist.”
The growing hatred, intimidation, and threats of violence against Butker for publicly defending his deeply-held beliefs represent the worst kind of anti-Catholic bigotry and should not be tolerated. These ideals are not controversial for millions of Americans and indeed remain sacred for millions of religious believers.
In a more positive post, evangelist Sean Feucht pointed out Butker’s jersey had jumped to the top-selling jersey on the NFL’s website. “It’s almost as if normal fans love men of faith, conviction and courage who will stand up to the whiny and woke mob,” he wrote. “The tide is turning in America. This gives me hope.”