Harrison Butker only spoke for 20 minutes, but the world has been talking about what he said for weeks.
Takes on the Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s May 11 commencement address at Benedictine University have been pouring in—from teammates Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes to The View‘s Whoopi Goldberg—with the common thread being that what he said sparked spirited reactions from all corners.
Butker’s speech to the graduates of the private Catholic school in Lisle, Ill., touched on a number of his beliefs, including a laundry list of things he thinks are threatening the social fabric. But most of the public debate has focused on his comments about women—who, in his opinion, have been led astray from their true purpose by “diabolical lies” told to them about what they should want out of life.
So followed his assertion that his wife Isabelle‘s “dream of having a career might not have come true,” but she’d be the first one to say she had no regrets about being a full-time wife and mom to their two kids. Speaking to the women in the audience, the 28-year-old said that, while surely some of them would go on to successful careers, he guessed the majority were “most excited” about marriage and children.
Elsewhere in the speech, discussing the qualities he prefers in a priest, he invoked his favorite Taylor Swift lyric—”familiarity breeds contempt” from Midnights‘ “Bejeweled”—but attributed the quote to his “teammate’s girlfriend.”
What most people do seem to be in agreement about is that the athlete had the right to say what he said, like it or not. And, in the wake of his remarks, people certainly have been exercising their right to respond.
Keep reading to see the reactions to Butker’s speech: