The NFL itself recently denounced harrison butker's A controversial speech at this weekend's commencement ceremony featured sexist, homophobic and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
On Saturday, the 28-year-old Kansas City Chiefs kicker gave a speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, that included topics such as Pride Month, abortion rights and President Joe Biden. , and also addressed marriage and children (or just), which included women who might be preferred (Harrison's mother, elizabeth butker He is a clinical medical physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
The speech has since gone viral online and beyond, fueling outrage and now claiming that the athlete's own employer does not share his views.
NFL reaction to Harrison Butker's speech
said the NFL's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer in a statement to People. Jonathan Bean Harrison said he gave the speech “in a personal capacity,” adding, “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusivity, which guides our league. It just makes us stronger.”
Former Kansas City Commissioner justice horn He also applauded the speech on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing, “Harrison Butker does not and has never represented Kansas City. Kansas City has always supported the LGBTQ+ community. It is a place where members are welcomed, affirmed, and accepted.”
what he said about taylor swift
“A deadly sin is like pride, which we dedicate an entire month to” and “Bad policy and poor leadership are negatively impacting life's major issues, including abortion, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and euthanasia.” . . . The growing support for degenerate cultural values and media all stems from the proliferation of anarchy,” Harrison also quoted Taylor Swift.
While criticizing the Catholic Church for encouraging overcrowding among its clergy, Harrison quoted Taylor – the most streamed artist on Spotify and a millionaire from music alone. She is the only artist whose Elas tour has boosted the GDP of many cities –– and will perform on her song “Bejeweled” from her 2022 Grammy Award-winning album. midnight.
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Omitting her name and simply referring to her as Travis Kelce's girlfriend, he said: “This over-familiarity is going to be a problem every time, because as my teammate's girlfriend says, 'familiarity breeds contempt.'”
Reactions from celebrities
A change.org petition calling for the Chiefs to fire Harrison has 114,537 signatures and growing, and includes notable signers including: flavor flavorDevout Swifties Maria Shriver and Hoda Kotb also spoke out against the speech.
Flavor Flav wrote to X: “It seems like some players shouldn't give graduation speeches because they need to 'stay in their lane.'” Meanwhile, Hoda shared a video of Taylor performing her feminist anthem “The Man” on Instagram, writing in the caption, “Let's hear this” next to a football emoji, and took Harrison's stance. criticized cheekily.
Maria wrote on Instagram: “What was Harrison Butker really trying to tell women in his commencement speech about the choices they make in life today? Did they want us to believe that our lives were unique?” Does it begin when we take refuge in our vocation as wives and mothers? ”
“As a woman who has lived a meaningful life, worked inside and outside of the home, and embraced my calling to not only raise good human beings, but to develop this country in many ways, I know that the choice outside is a woman’s choice. I think it's humiliating for women to imply that it's important to them.'' Wife and motherhood pale in comparison to that of a housewife. ”