Patrick Mahomes responds to Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s controversial graduation speech
Patrick Mahomes has shared his thoughts on Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker’s graduation speech at Benedictine College.
On Wednesday May 22, following an organized team activity, or OTA, both the quarterback of the team and coach, Andy Reid, spoke at a press conference regarding Butker’s speech, during which he’d claimed the women in attendance should focus on becoming homemakers instead of their careers.
Throughout Butker’s speech to the Class of 2024, he specifically addressed the female members of the audience and the “diabolical lies” they’ve been told, before noting his own family was only successful because of his wife’s role as a homemaker. “Her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” Butker said.
The speech also included other controversial views, and criticized President Biden.
“Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues,” he Butker. “Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media, all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.”
During the press conference, Mahomes attested to Butker’s personality, avoiding mention of specific details from the speech itself.
“I’ve known him for several years,” Mahomes said about his teammate. “I judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a good person. That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact in society.”
“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, and we’re not always gonna agree. There are certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is, and he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction. It might not be the same values as I have, but at the same time, I’m gonna judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a great person.”
A reporter then asked the quarterback to clarify whether there were any specific aspects of the speech that he personally disagreed with. Mahomes only replied that he would not “get into the full details of the entire speech” and would only speak to the kind of person Butker is.
“I’m gonna make sure that I look at that first and then let the other stuff kind of handle itself,” his statement ended.
Reid also weighed in on the subject during the press conference, saying that he would not be discussing the speech with the kicker personally and no one has come forward to complain about it thus far.
“Everybody’s got their own opinion,” Reid said. “That’s what’s so great about this country ... I don’t think he was speaking ill of women. He has his opinions and we all respect that. I let you guys [the media] in this room and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like.”
