Chiefs’ quarterback, coach, owner’s wife defend Butker after commencement speech

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker ruffled feathers with a conservative commencement speech at Benedictine College this month. Now coming to his defense are quarterback Patrick Mahomes, coach Andy Reid and Tavia Hunt, wife of the NFL champions’ owner.

The kicker’s speech, which emphasized the role of women as mothers and took aim at LGBT Pride Month, drew raves and criticism on social media and a standing ovation from graduates of the Kansas Catholic college.

“I’ve known him for seven years,” Mahomes said Wednesday during the Chiefs’ offseason workouts. “I judge him by the character that he shows every single day. … That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact in society.”

Mahomes and Reid noted that they may disagree with Butker’s views, but they have their kicker’s back. 

“We’re a microcosm of life here,” Reid said. “Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races and we all get along. We all respect each other’s opinions, and not necessarily do we go by those but we respect everybody to have a voice.”

Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, also stood up for Butker on social media. She didn’t address the player by name but underscored the message from his speech. 

“Affirming motherhood and praising your wife, as well as highlighting the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a mother, is not bigoted,” Tavia Hunt wrote on Instagram. “It is empowering to acknowledge that a woman’s hard work in raising children is not in vain. Countless highly educated women devote their lives to nurturing and guiding their children.”

The Catholic kicker’s speech has sparked conversations around the NFL, including in the Miami Dolphins’ locker room. 

“I think you have to understand that what you say publicly can be fragmented and last with you forever,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Wednesday. “I really emphasize that whatever you’re going to say, you better believe it.”