Patrick Mahomes breaks his silence on Harrison Butker’s viral and controversial speech

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The last few weeks for the Kansas City Chiefs have been rather chaotic. In fact, the team’s offseason as a whole has generated a stir.

A video of kicker Harrison Butker went viral on social media. It was his commencement speech at Benedictine College.

The kicker made comments criticising LGBTQIA+ Pride Month and President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, as well as his response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also told the women present at the ceremony that they were probably more excited about getting married and having children than receiving their diplomas.

What is said in Butker’s polemical speech

The Kansas City player spoke directly with female graduates of Benedictine College.

“For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” said.

He added: “How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? 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.”

Butker then praised his wife for the role she plays in their family: “I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.”

The NFL has spoken out against the player’s speech

The NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, Jonathan Beane, made it clear that the league does not share Butker’s views and words, saying that he “gave a speech in a personal capacity”.

“His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” Beane clarified. “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

After the official statement, many fans spoke out on social media, either in favour of the player or in agreement with the league’s response.

Mahomes broke the silence and gave his perspective on his teammate’s speech

Until then, no one from the Chiefs’ organisation had touched on the subject of the kicker’s speech.

However, during this Wednesday’s press conference at the Chiefs’ OTAs practice, Patrick Mahomes was asked how he sees what Butker said.

“I’ve known him for seven years. I judge him by the character 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.”

Mahomes then claimed that it’s OK for people not to agree with each other.

“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 [who] he is and [that] he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”