Harrison Butker compares himself to a SAINT as he doubles down on ‘misogynistic’ commencement speech in which the Kansas City Chiefs star told female graduates to focus on being ‘homemakers’

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has compared himself to a saint as he doubles down on a ‘misogynistic’ speech he made saying women are happier as ‘homemakers’. The 28-year-old delivered a 20-minute speech last Saturday at the Catholic private liberal arts college in Kansas.

In it, he said men should ‘fight against the cultural emasculation’ and encouraged women to be ‘homemakers’ instead of working. On Friday night, he doubled down on his remarks, comparing himself to Saint Daniel during another speech at a Regina Caeli Academy event in Nashville, Tennessee. He told the event: ‘Over the past few days my beliefs, or what people think I believe, have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe.’

He continued: ‘At the outset, many people expressed a shocking level of hate. But as the days went on even those who disagreed with my view points shared their support for my freedom of religion. ‘As to be expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most, which is my Catholic faith, the more polarizing I have become.’ The kicker went on to say his decision was one that he did ‘not regret at all’, and said it wasn’t people but Jesus Christ he was trying to please.

He continued: ‘I can’t help but tremble at the thought of the courage many saints have shown in their lives. Would I be so bold if the repercussion was what Daniel faced in being fed to lions. ‘In reality any courage I have shown will lead to some small suffering, and it will lead to some people never liking me. ‘If I constantly remind myself of the hardships the saints went through, especially the martyrs and their persecution, it makes it all seem not so bad.

‘For if heaven is our goal, we should embrace our cross however large or small it maybe and live our life in joy to be a bold witness for Christ.’ He also said that he had been ‘humbled’ by the support he had received from people for his remarks. Butker, an outspoken Catholic and married father-of-two, has been widely criticized for his comments last week. He added that his high school-sweetheart and now wife Isabelle’s life only ‘truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother’ after she converted to his Catholic faith.

A petition demanding the release of Butker from the Chiefs and NFL has gone viral in wake of his controversial speech. As of Saturday morning, over 220,000 people had signed the petition to end his seven-season association with the Chiefs. Travis Kelce earlier this week broke his silence and defended Butker over his remarks, even though he said he disagreed with it almost entirely. ‘I’ve known him for even plus years. I cherish him as a teammate. I think Pat (Mahomes – the Chiefs quarterback) said it best where he is every bit of a great person and a great teammate,’ he said.

‘He’s treated family and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness. And that’s how he treats everyone. ‘When it comes down to his views and what he said at the Saint Benedict’s commencement speech, those are his. I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids. ‘And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am. ‘I grew up in a beautiful upbringing of different social classes, different religions, different races and ethnicities in Cleveland Heights and that’s why I love Cleveland Heights for what it was.

‘It showed me a broad spectrum, a broad view of a lot of different walks of life. I appreciated every single one of those people for different reasons and I never once had to feel that I needed to judge them based off their beliefs. ‘My household, my mother and my father both provided for my family and both my mother and my father made home what it was. They were homemakers and they were providers. And they were unbelievable at being present every single day of my life.

‘I think that was a beautiful upbringing for me. Now I don’t think everyone should do it the way my parents did, but I certainly, sure as hell thank my parents and love my parents for being able to provide and make home what it was. ‘I’m not the same person without the both of them being who they were in my life.’ Jason Kelce also said he disagrees with Butker but hit out at the level the backlash got to.

Butker, who in 2017 was the seventh-round pick out of Georgia Tech, has become of the NFL’s best kickers, breaking the Chiefs’ franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022. He helped them win their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, added a second Lombardi Trophy in 2023, and he kicked the field goal that forced overtime in a Super Bowl win over San Francisco in February.