Kansas City Chiefs’ standout (three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback) Patrick Mahomes breaks silence on teammate Harrison Butker’s divisive graduation speech in public debut. For most of us wondering what Harrison said, He spoke to the women during the graduation speech, telling them that though they are excited about their careers, he’s sure they are most excited about getting married and having children. He goes further to say their most important title should be “Home-maker”. Harrison also touched on issues including birth control and abortion and described Pride month, which typically falls in June and is dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, as a “deadly sin.”
Patrick’s reaction:
He said he has known him for seven years and he’s someone that wants to make an impact in society.
“There’s certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is, and he is trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction,” Mahomes said of Butker, according to ESPN. “And that might not be the same values as I have.”
Mahomes continued, “But at the same time, I’m going to judge him by the character that he shows every single day. That’s a great person, and we’ll continue to move along and try to help build each other up to make ourselves better every single day.”
Mahomes seemed to describe Butker’s speech as a “distraction” as preparations for the new NFL season get underway.
Other comments:
Days after the speech, Mahomes at a Times magazine event praised the growth of women’s sport. He raised a glass to an era when the women’s game finally gets the attention it deserves. He was said to applause and went forward to say we should care about women’s sport because they are incredible.
On Wednesday, Coach Andy Reid said he has not spoken to Butler about the speech. Reid said: “We all get along. We all respect each other’s opinions, I don’t think he was speaking ill to women, but he has his opinions, and we respect that.”
NFL’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, Jonathan Beane, said Butler spoke “In his personal capacity and 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”, NFL said.
Bottom Line:
The NFL organization as a whole has expressed their personal and joint thoughts on the speech given by Butker. Though they do not entirely stand by him, they made positive comments about his personality and his good works. But now we ask the question, what prompted him to make such a speech at the graduation ceremony? What made him criticize and downgrade others in the cause of his speech?
