Harrison Butker seems to have been canceled by everyone except the people who count: the fans.
Sure, over 170,000 people have signed a petition asking the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs to “dismiss” Butker, the team’s kicker, after he gave a commencement speech in defense of traditional biblical values at a Catholic college in Kansas on Saturday.
The city of Kansas City’s official social media account effectively doxed the player by sharing where he lives. Media leftists of all stripes used the occasion to tar and feather Butker, himself a Catholic, for holding those traditional values — often using Colin Kaepernick as a cudgel against the Chiefs and the NFL.
Even the NFL has distanced itself from Butker’s remarks: “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” said Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a Thursday statement, according to The Associated Press. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
If it was all that bad, you would think the man would be a pariah. And yet, his comments seemingly have made his jersey among the best-selling in the NFL, according to Fox News.
“As of Thursday, Butker’s jersey appears to be among the most in-demand fan gear on NFL.com. Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ jersey is also listed among the league’s bestselling jerseys,” the outlet noted.
However, kickers aren’t necessarily the kind of people whose jerseys people own. As a New York Giants fan, I’d make an exception for Scott Norwood’s Bills uniform, but that’s about it.
So what did Butker say at Kansas’ Benedictine College that has the left furious and fans celebrating him for standing up for his values?
For starters, the 28-year-old took a shot at LGBT pride, saying that while graduates should be proud of their school, it should not be “the-deadly-sins sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true, God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him.”
Do you stand with Harrison Butker?
Furthermore, he took shots at Democrats and leftists for promoting “degenerate cultural values” and “disorder” while slamming President Joe Biden for his status as a “devout Catholic.”
“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally,” the kicker said.
“From the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common — they are Catholic.”
He also noted sadly that these policies aren’t unusual.
“While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique,” Butker 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.”
Furthermore, he encouraged female graduates to embrace their future role as wives and mothers as opposed to giving it up to focus on job security, saying the “have had the most diabolical lies told to you.”
“How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? 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,” he said.
The full speech is here. Trigger warning to libs, I suppose — biblical truth is ahead:
I’m not entirely sure why this raised so many hackles to full mast, given that this is what an actual “devout Catholic” looks like. Furthermore, Butker hasn’t been cagey about his faith. Those who view his profile on X, formerly Twitter, will notice that “Christus Regnat” — “Christ reigns” in Latin — is the first thing on the bio, before “Husband & Father,” his role with the Chiefs and his three Super Bowl championships. They’ll also notice that this is his pinned post:
“We mustn’t squander this period of the world’s history which God has entrusted to each one of us.” – Saint Josemaria Escriva pic.twitter.com/tpaGhBGO3L
— Harrison Butker (@buttkicker7) October 2, 2023
But if you live in a left-bubble echo chamber too long, you think that these are the kind of antiquated values that Christians have outgrown.
Maybe certain air-quotes “Christians,” sure. The real article? No in italics, and this is proof: When you can get NFL fans to buy a kicker’s jersey en masse during the offseason, this is proof that faith and traditional values aren’t dead.
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