Harrison Butker Defends Graduation Speech: ‘Nothing to Apologize For’

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker refused to back down when asked about the reaction to his controversial commencement address last year. 

During Super Bowl media availability on Monday, February 3, Butker, 29, was asked to reflect on his speech at Benedictine College in May 2024, in which he called on women to embrace the role of “homemaker” and equated Pride Month to “deadly sin,” among other comments. 

“God has given me this platform and I’m going to say what I believe to be true and what I hold close to my heart,” Butker told reporters. “Anything that comes, I’m blessed to be on the Chiefs and be in another Super Bowl.”

Butker and the Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9 from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. 

Furthermore, Butker said his speech and the subsequent feedback “opened up a lot of good conversations” with his teammates.

“A lot of guys had differing opinions about it,” Butker admitted. “But we all love each other in that locker room and we all know who we are. I think all the guys understood where I was coming from. I know they respect me, they respect what I have to say. I got nothing to apologize for.”

In the days after Butker’s commencement address, some of his teammates offered their responses, including Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.

“I know Harry and I saw him in the building. I call him Harry, I might be the only person who calls him Harry,” Kelce, 35, said on his “New Heights” podcast in May 2024. “That just tells you, I mean, I’ve known him for seven-plus, eight-plus years and I cherish him as a teammate.”

Kelce continued, “He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness and that’s how he treats everyone. When it comes down to his views and what he said at the [Benedictine College] commencement speech, you know, those are his [views]. I can’t say I agree with the majority of it — or just about any of it — outside of just him loving his family or his kids. I don’t think I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views of how he goes about life.”

During an offseason press conference, quarterback Mahomes, 29, echoed the same sentiment.

“I’ve known him for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every single day, and that’s a good person,” he told reporters. “That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact in society.”

Mahomes continued, “When you’re in the locker room, there’s a lot of people from a lot of different areas of life and they have a lot of different views on everything. We’re not always going to agree and there’s certain things that he said that I don’t agree with, but I understand the person he is and [that] he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”