“I want to give the most vulnerable, the unborn, a voice.” – Kansas City Chiefs Kicker, Harrison Butker 💝💝💝

In a single 20-minute speech, Harrison Butker went from being known largely as the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, to the man behind a controversial graduation address that has drawn both criticism and praise across the country.

But who is Butker, what did he say and why has it sparked such conversation?

Who is Harrison Butker?

Butker is the 28-year-old kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Georgia Tech has become one of the NFL’s best kickers, breaking the Chiefs’ franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022. Butker 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.

He is also a conservative Catholic and has shared some of his religious beliefs on social media in the past.

What did Harrison Butker say?

Butker appeared as the commencement speaker last week at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school in Kansas, and said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children.

Butker also said some Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America” and assailed Pride month, a particularly important time for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion.

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker said.

“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he said.

Butker said that his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all. Homemaker.“

He referred to a “deadly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it” in an oblique reference to Pride month and took aim at Biden’s policies, including his condemnation of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and advocacy for freedom of choice — a key campaign issue in the 2024 presidential race.

Butker also tackled Biden’s response to COVID-19, which has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique,” he said. “Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder.”

At one point Butker used a quote from Taylor Swift, who is dating his teammate Travis Kelce.

“As my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘familiarity breeds contempt,’ ” Butker said.

The line is part of Swift’s song “Bejeweled.”