Renowned Kansas City Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, has asserted his convictions amidst a heated response to his recent commencement address at Benedictine College that went viral. Butker made his first remarks after the speech at the Regina Caeli Academy’s (RCA) “Courage Under Fire Gala” in Nashville. Butker is a board member of RCA.
During his speech at the gala, Butker mentioned his beliefs as a center of global debate due to the backlash following his commencement speech. However, he stood his ground and expressed his resolution not to flinch from his faith despite the hate received.
Butker also took a cue from the hardships endured by saints and martyrs and expressed his readiness in carrying his cross regardless of its magnitude, emphasizing that reaching Heaven is his ultimate goal.
In Butker’s contentious commencement address, he applauded homemakers, which commanded acclaim from the audience but attracted mixed reactions from critics. A petition calling for Butker’s dismissal from the NFL on the grounds of alleged sexist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-abortion, and racist remarks garnered attention, accumulating over 100,000 signatures.
However, the criticism aimed towards Butker led to his jersey skyrocketing in popularity, ranking amongst the top 72 of 8,197 total jerseys featured and climbing up the best-sellers list for the Kansas City Chiefs team.