The lesson of Harrison Butker: Take words seriously, not kickers, the Chiefs specialist is entitled to the views expressed in his graduation speech, but misusing our language undermines its value

I’m sure I should be more upset about Harrison Butker, but he’s just a kicker. He’s not even a very influential member of his own team. He deserves a merely proportional response. The best reply to Butker is to make fun of him; kickers hate that.

Turn his name into a verb. When you “butker” something, it means to botch an intellectual argument with clumsy hyperbole to the point of obnoxiousness. To get “butkered” means to be preached to by a dude with a zealot’s beard that looks like it was combed with a harrow. This is a Catholic University. It is one of the tenets of the Catholic Faith that it teaches to all students especially women.

If you go back in the Bible to Joshua you will read how the Lord could not break the religious belief in Baal. They burned their babies alive to be granted wishes in the future. Abortion IS killing. Euthanasia IS the killing of people who believe they have not hope. I thought it was a good speech.

Way too much is being made of a commencement speech by a professional football player espousing his conservative, traditional Catholic dogma at a small Catholic college. First of all, they are just his opinions based on his beliefs; they are not mandates to those assembled. He ain’t the Pope, a Cardinal, Arch Bishop or a member of the clergy. So, take it or leave it.

Secondly, all commencement addresses no matter the school, college or university are just verbal cotton candy quickly forgotten after diplomas are issued and caps are tossed. So, let Butker’s quasi-homily float away like the ”Congratulations Graduate!” balloons. And go get beer!

Lastly, he was speaking as a private citizen, not as a representative of the Chiefs or the NFL, at the invite of this little-known college. Most people would otherwise not be aware of this relatively obscure player. “Butker, who?”