The NFL itself is the latest to denounce Harrison Butker's controversial speech during a commencement ceremony this weekend, which featured sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic rhetoric.
On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs kicker, 28, gave a speech at Benedictine College –– a private Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas –– which in part took aim at pride month, abortion rights, President Joe Biden, and women who may prioritize (or just also) work over marriage and children (Harrison's mom, Elizabeth Butker, is a clinical medical physicist who works for the department of radiation oncology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta).
The speech has since gone viral and grown ire online and beyond, with now the athlete's own employer maintaining they don't align themselves with his views.
NFL response to Harrison Butker speech
In a statement to People, the NFL's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said that Harrison gave the speech "in his personal capacity," and that: "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."
Former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn also clapped back at the speech, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Harrison Butker doesn't represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members."
What he said about Taylor Swift
In between statements such as: "The deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it," or: "Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder," Harrison also quoted Taylor Swift.
As he criticized the Catholic church for encouraging excess familiarity among its priests, Harrison quoted Taylor –– the most streamed artist on Spotify, the only artist to become a billionaire from music alone, and whose Eras tour has raised the GDP of many of the cities she performs in –– and her song "Bejeweled" from her 2022 Grammy-winning album Midnights.
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Omitting her name and simply referring to her as Travis Kelce's girlfriend, he said: "This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time, because as my teammate's girlfriend says, 'familiarity breeds contempt.'"
Responses from celebrities
Aside from a change.org petition demanding the Chiefs dismiss Harrison, which has 114,537 signatures and counting, celebrities such as Flavor Flav, a devout Swiftie, Maria Shriver, and Hoda Kotb have also spoken out against the speech.
Flavor Flav wrote on X: "Sounds like some players 'need to stay in their lanes' and shouldn't be giving commencement speeches," while Hoda shared a video on Instagram of Taylor performing her feminist anthem "The Man" and wrote in her caption: "Let's listen to this one for KICKS," next to a football emoji, a cheeky dig at Harrison's position.
Maria shared a statement on Instagram which in part read: "What point was Harrison Butker really trying to make to women in his graduation speech about their present day life choices? Did he really want them, aka us, to believe that our lives truly only begin when we lean into the vocation of wife and mother?"
"As a woman who has leaned into my vocation of living a meaningful life and working inside and outside the home to not only raise good humans but also raise up our country in various ways, I think it's demeaning to women to imply that their choices outside of wife and motherhood pale in comparison to that of homemaker."