Kicker Harrison Butker delivered a powerful address in defense of Christian values to a group of Benedictine College graduates on Saturday.
Now, the NFL says they disagree with Butker.
In her commencement speech, Butker criticized President Joe Biden for his pro-abortion stances, urged male graduates to embrace masculinity, and championed the virtues of motherhood, telling female graduates not to there is no higher vocation than being a housewife.
In a statement to People on Wednesday, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane clarified that Butker's values are not those of the NFL.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Harrison Butker #7 kicks a field goal during the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
“Harrison Butker made a speech in his personal capacity,” Beane wrote. “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.”
In addition to speaking to the graduates about the current administration's anti-Christian values regarding abortion and motherhood, as well as the “cultural emasculation of men,” Butker also said Pride Month represented “deadly sins”.
WOW: #heads Kicker Harrison Butker RIPS President Joe Biden Says He's Deluded.
“He's been so vocal in his support for the killing of innocent babies that I'm sure it seems to a lot of people that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.”
(@dannydeurbina)
pic.twitter.com/UK2tcnV3gi— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 13, 2024
The NFL's assertive stance that the league does not share Butker's traditional Christian values stands in stark contrast to how the NFL handled the situation of famous national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick. The league never took issue with his blatantly anti-American and anti-police statements.
Yet when Butker speaks about Christian values to a Christian audience at a Christian university, the league seems to feel the need to distance itself from the comments.
In fact, not only did the NFL fail to correct Kaepernick's extreme views, they also adopted key points of his cause and created Inspire Change, a social justice initiative. Which gives tens of millions annually to groups, some of which lawyer to defund or abolish the police.
Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers kneels during the national anthem before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 18, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
And of course, the NFL had a lot more reason to express their displeasure with Kaepernick's views, not only because they were repugnant, but also because the former 49er was turning his customers into a captive audience (which he disagreed with with him, overwhelmingly) maintaining his protest. before a live game, as well as using NFL facilities to give interviews about his warped worldview.
Harrison Butker expressed his views in his own time and at the invitation of a group of people who agreed with him. Technically, the NFL shouldn't have said anything unless it wanted to, which it did, and that's the problem.
So, in other words, if the NFL wants to communicate that its values are more in line with Colin Kaepernick and Black Lives Matter rather than Christian family men like Harrison Butker, they're doing an excellent job.
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