Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes commented Wednesday on kicker Harrison Butker’s recent controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College.
Mahomes said that while he disagreed with “certain things” that his longtime teammate said, he still considers him a “good person” and a close friend.
Star Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce addressed Butker’s remarks during Friday’s episode of his “New Heights” podcast and shared an almost identical message to that of Mahomes.
“He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness,” Kelce said. “And that’s how he treats everyone. When it comes down to his views and what he said [in his] commencement speech, those are his.”
What’s interesting in Kelce’s case is that Butker directly referenced the pass-catcher’s girlfriend (singer-songwriter Taylor Swift) during his speech. Butker referred to the 14-time Grammy Award winner simply as “my teammate’s girlfriend,” saying, “[a]s (she) says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt,'” referencing the song “Bejeweled.”
Kelce didn’t talk about that specifically on Friday but had more to say about Butker’s comments in general.
“I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids,” the nine-time Pro Bowler said. “And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am.”
The 28-year-old Butker spoke for over 20 minutes at the Catholic school, telling the graduating students that he “wanted them to prevent political leaders from interfering with social issues that impact their relationship with the church.” Butker also referred to Pride Month as an example of the “deadly sins” during his address.
“Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it,” he said, “but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the holy ghost to glorify him.”
Butker also discussed “gender ideologies” according to Tess DeMeyer of The Athletic, calling a woman’s most important title “homemaker.”
“It is
you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you,” Butker said. “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.”
Kelce kept the same tone throughout his response, pointing out that both of his parents were “homemakers and providers” and were “unbelievable at being present every single day of (his) life.”
“That was a beautiful upbringing for me. … I’m not the same person without both
of them being who they were in my life,” added Kelce.
