Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker says Pride Month is example of 'deadly sin' during graduation speech

“Not the kind of pride in capital sins that has a whole month dedicated to it,” Butker said, “but real God-centered pride that is cooperating with the holy spirit to glorify Him.”

Butker spoke for more than 20 minutes to students at the Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, and said he wanted the graduating class to stop political leaders from interfering in social issues that affect their relationship with church

Butker, 28, criticized an Associated Press article about the U.S. Catholic Church, which detailed the institution's shift “back to the old ways.” He singled out Benedictine rules that “seem like precepts from a bygone era,” including “volunteering for 3 a.m. prayers” and “prohibited pornography, premarital sex and sunbathing in bathing suits.” .

Butker said the story was an “attempt to castigate and shame” places like Benedictine, and that it would be met with “pride” rather than “anger.”

Benedictine, a college with more than 2,100 full-time students as of September 2022, describes itself as a liberal arts institution dedicated to “the education of men and women within a community of faith and leadership.” Butker, who called on religious leaders “to stay the course and lead,” praised the Benedictine for embracing what he called traditional Catholic values.

“When you embrace tradition, success, worldly and spiritual, will follow,” Butker said.

In October 2014, the school ordered basketball player Jallen Messersmith to remove a Pride flag from his bedroom window.

Butker also used the speech to criticize President Joe Biden on various issues, including abortion and the coronavirus pandemic, and questioned Biden's devotion to Catholicism. Butker also addressed gender ideologies, saying that a woman's most important title is “housekeeper.”

“It is you women who have told you the most diabolical lies. Some of you may go on to have successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that most of you are more excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” Butker said.

Bosses did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kansas City is one of many American cities hosting Pride events in June, led by the KC Pride Community Alliance.

Butker is a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs. He was a seventh-round draft pick in 2017 and made 33 of 35 field goals in the 2023 season.

(Photo: Chris Unger/Getty Images)