NFL Officials Walk Back Criticism as Christians Come to Butker’s Defense
In the face of rabid leftist backlash over an explicitly Christian commencement speech he delivered, football star Harrison Butker is finding plenty of support. The Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s bold proclamation of countercultural Christian truth to the 2024 graduating class at the Catholic Benedictine College sparked the ire of leftists, both within the National Football League and without.
Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and top diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, tried to distance the organization from the biblical worldview espoused by Butker, saying last week, “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. 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.”
Others have taken aim at Butker’s Catholic faith, smearing him as “extremist,” and an online petition has garnered over 200,000 signatures calling for the kicker to be fired for “discriminatory remarks.”
As clamorous as the left-wing condemnation of Butker has been, support for the outspokenly Christian kicker has been just as loud. During a press conference this week, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid came to his player’s defense.
“Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races. And so we all get along, we all respect each other’s opinions. And not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice. It’s the great thing about America, man,” Reid told reporters. “The guys are good with that. They understand. They understand how things work. Everybody’s got their own opinion; that’s what’s so great about this country. You can share those things, and you work through it. And that’s what guys do.” (Read more from “NFL Officials Walk Back Criticism as Christians Come to Butker’s Defense” HERE)
