Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was recently in the news for agreeing to a four-year, $25.6 million contract that made him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL.
His new deal made headlines, but nothing close to the ones generated by the commencement speech Butker gave earlier this summer that received a ton of backlash for its misogynistic tone and questionable takes on faith and marriage.
Butker recently got honest about the speech when speaking to the media at Chiefs training camp.
“In terms of what I said, I prayed about it, and I thought about it, and I was very intentional with what I said and I stand behind what I said,” Butker said, via KCTV5 sports reporter Marieah Campbell.
#Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker spoke to local media at training camp today for the first time since his viral May commencement speech at Benedictine.
His comments in part, specifically to the feedback he’s gotten: pic.twitter.com/9wjQxmShTv
— Marleah Campbell (@MarleahKCTV5) August 7, 2024
Butker added that if people knew him better they’d understand it was coming from a place of love and that he only wants the best for people.
His response to people taking his message the wrong way was that he’d never want to put women down and that he loves and respects women, most notably his wife who has “completely changed her life around and made sure she has focused on being the ultimate wife and the ultimate mother.”
The commencement speech at Benedictine College made a ton of headlines during one of the NFL’s slowest times of the year, and this latest clip will surely reignite some controversy, but Butker is clearly looking to move past it and get back to kicking footballs.
The Chiefs have enough other things to worry about as they attempt to become the first team in history to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.