Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Breaks Silence On Controversial Commencement Speech

After over a week of silence, Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker publicly defended the controversial commencement speech he gave earlier this month at Benedictine College.

During the “Courage Under Fire Gala” hosted by the Regina Caeli Academy on Friday, the Catholic football player doubled down on remarks he made in his speech at the Kansas college that were criticized by the public as homophobic and sexist.

“If it wasn’t clear that the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is now,” Butker said Friday evening at the address in Nashville, Tennessee.

“As to be expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most — which is my Catholic faith — the more polarizing I’ve become. It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all,” he continued later.

On May 11, the Catholic football player’s commencement speech dove into a ring-wing, bigoted rant , during which he slammed abortion rights and dogmatized “dangerous gender ideologies” and the “tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion.” Butker also called LGBTQ+ Pride Month “a deadly sin” and suggested that female graduates “embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” he said in his commencement address. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

His speech went viral and drew widespread criticism, including from his teammates and the National Football League.

A few days after Butker’s speech, the NFL released a statement distancing itself from the football players’ views,