The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t exactly remained distraction-free in the months since they last met power victory. Recently, player Harrison Butker found himself in the crosshairs of social media for the Benedictine College veteran’s polarizing graduation speech. But Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce became the latest teammate to defend Butker this week, addressing the player’s comments on a recent episode of his show “new Horizons“Audio blogging.
“I’ve known him for probably more than seven years, more than eight years,” Kelsey said. “And I cherish him as a teammate. I think (Patrick Mahomes) said it best: He’s a great person and a great teammate. He treated the friends and family I gave him with nothing but respect.” And kindness, that’s how he treats everyone. When it comes to his opinions and what he said in his opening speech, I can’t say I agree with the majority on it, or just about anything outside of his love for his family and his children, (but) I don’t think I should judge him by his opinions, especially His religious views, on how to go about life…I grew up in a beautiful environment raising different social classes, different religions, different races and ethnicities…Both my mother and father made the home what it was, so they were homemakers and they were breadwinners.”
Kelsey’s brother, Jason, had similar sentiments on the podcast.
“I (appreciated) my teammates’ reactions with the Chiefs, Andy Reid’s reactions,” Kelce said. “You learn more about the people they deal with on a daily basis. … A lot of the things he said are not things I support, but he’s giving a speech at a Catholic university and — shocking — it ends up being a very religious and Catholic speech.”
Among other things, Butker’s comments caught attention NFL The office, along with Commissioner Roger Goodell, issued the following statement last week: Per Yahoo Sports: “Harrison Butker spoke 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 makes our league stronger.”
When asked about Butker’s speech again on Wednesday, Goodell explained that the league has a “diversity of opinions.”
“We have more than 3,000 players,” he added. “They have a diversity of opinions and ideas just like in America. I think that’s something we cherish and is part of what ultimately makes us as a better society.”
Those comments by Goodell were echoed by Reid and Mahomes, the Chiefs’ most prominent spokesmen, who defended the kicker on Wednesday in an OTA session in Kansas City.
“I know Harrison,” Mahomes said He told reporters. “I’ve known him for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every day, and that’s a good person. He’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family, and wants to make a good impact in the community. When you’re in a locker room, there are a lot of people.” From different walks of life, they have a lot of different views on everything, and we won’t always agree.
“And there are some things he said that I don’t necessarily agree with. But I understand his character, and he’s trying to do everything he can to try to lead people in the right direction. And it may not be the right way.” The same values that I have, but at the same time, I’m going to judge him by the values that he shows every day, and that’s a great guy… I know what kind of person he is, and I’m going to make sure I look at that first.”
Reed backed Mahomes’ stance, standing by three times power Champion kicker.
“I talk to Harrison all the time,” Reid said. “I didn’t talk to him about it. I didn’t think I needed to. We’re a microcosm of life here. We come from different regions, different religions, different ethnicities. We all agree and we all respect each other’s opinions and we don’t necessarily follow that, but we We respect everyone to have a voice, and that’s great for America, man, we’re just a microcosm of that, and I hope — my wish is that everyone can kind of follow that.”
When asked how he would respond to women working for bosses who were upset by Butker’s comments, Reid dismissed the question, telling reporters that had not happened.
“I don’t think he was talking badly to women,” Reid added. “But he has his opinions, and we all respect that. I let you guys be in this room, and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like.”
Butker initially received backlash — mainly on social media — afterward The May 11 speech is wide-ranging, directed at devout Catholics, touched on a number of hot-button issues, including abortion and “deteriorating cultural values.” The 28-year-old star privately argued that women have been told “satanic lies” about prioritizing career progression over motherhood, and suggested that Pride Month celebrates a “mortal sin”. He also urged men to be more present – and “do hard things” – inside and outside the home.
Butker, who is one of… NFL The most accurate kicker of all time by career field goal percentage, he briefly saw his No. 7 jersey worn Become one of the best sellers in the league After his statements spread.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”