Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes gave their support to kicker Harrison Butker on Wednesday after he received heavy backlash for the pro-family speech he gave at Benedictine College.
Butker said to the female graduates that while women can have rewarding careers, being the bedrock of a family will be the most rewarding part of their lives. Butker’s detractors have gone on to baselessly accuse him of being a misogynist.
“I don’t think he was speaking ill to women,” Reid told reporters. “He has his opinions, and we all respect that. I let you guys in this room, and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like, so.”
“I didn’t talk to him about this. I didn’t think we needed to,” Reid added. “We’re a microcosm of life. Everyone is from different areas, different religions, different races. And so, we all get along, we all respect each other’s opinions and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everyone to have a voice. That’s the great thing about America, man, … and my wish is that everybody can kind of follow that.”
‘Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity …’
Reid noted having the ability to hold different opinions while still being able to work together to accomplish something is what makes the U.S. a great country.
“I’ve known him for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every day, and that’s a good person. That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family,” Mahomes said. “We’re not always going to agree. He said certain things I don’t necessarily agree with.”
In contrast, the NFL issued a statement distancing itself from Butker.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said in a statement released on Thursday. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
The leftist outrage over Butker’s speech has gone into overdrive. The Daily Beast published a piece that went as far as to accuse Butker of anti-Semitism.
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