The commencement speech given by Harrison Butker at Benedictine College has gone viral, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons: The Chiefs kicker’s controversial address has created a divide on the internet, with some defending his right to free speech.

The commencement speech given by Harrison Butker at Benedictine College has gone viral, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. On May 11, while addressing the graduating liberal arts class, Butker expressed certain religious beliefs and talked about abortion as well as the LGBTQ+ community. However, some of his comments were considered ‘sexist’ and ‘misogynistic’ by several and caused an uproar. The Chiefs kicker’s controversial address has created a divide on the internet, with some defending his right to free speech.

Patrick Mahomes recently spoke out in his teammate’s support and called Butker “a good person”. While appearing on The View, American actor Whoopi Goldberg compared Harrison Butker and Colin Kaepernick. Whoopi Goldberg came to Harrison Butker’s defense and said, “These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to them. I don’t have to believe them. I don’t have to accept them.” She further cited Colin Kaepernick taking a knee on the gridiron as an example of freedom of speech and expression and said, “The same way we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours.”

While, according to Goldberg, Butker taking a stand is similar to Kaepernick making a statement for social justice, not everyone is sold on the comparison. Recently, Steve Wyche, who broke the Colin Kaepernick story, appeared on the RG3 and The Ones podcast. While discussing Harrison Butker’s speech, RGIII, a former NFL quarterback, asked Steve Wyche if he believed comparisons between Chiefs kicker and Colin Kaepernick were justified. The NFL Network reporter gave a resounding no as the answer. Steve Wyche revealed he had “a real hard time” justifying the comparison

“Colin Kaepernick, whether you liked it or didn’t like it, he took a stand at a football stadium as a quarterback in uniform. He actually took a seat against police brutality, against injustices in the justice system,” said Wyche. The NFL reporter further added, “Harrison Butker, again, he took a religious stand at a graduation ceremony, and some things some people would probably align with, and some things people would disagree with.” According to Steve Wyche, the similarities between the two ended there. He believed that Colin Kaepernick’s showing support for police brutality against black people could not be equated to Harrison Butker voicing his personal views during the speech.

The reporter, who joined the NFL in 2008, added, “I can’t put those two on the same plane.” While RGIII supported Butker’s right to free speech, he did not align himself with the kicker’s views. “I can’t pontificate on what Harrison Butker was trying to say, but I know that what he did say was him as a man thinking what women should think. And that was his biggest mistake.” RGIII and Steve Wyche might have criticized Butker’s views, but big names from the NFL world have not gone down the same path.

The Chiefs quarterback defended his teammate during his press conference after the OTAs, saying, “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, wants to make a good impact in society.” While Patrick Mahomes did not personally agree with all of Harrison Butker’s views, the star quarterback felt that Butker was entitled to speak his mind. Andy Reid also backed Harrison Butker and said, “Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races, and so we all get along. We all respect each other’s opinions.” In addition to support from the Chiefs, Butker’s speech also received a similar response from the NFL commissioner.