Most Americans were probably surprised to hear the media cover a Kansas City Chief not named Travis Kelce. But while Taylor Swift’s latest boyfriend is away on her European tour, the mob stayed very busy crucifying his Catholic teammate, kicker Harrison Butker. His crime? Daring to talk about his faith on a college campus that shares it.
Once clips of the speech started circulating, out came the media buzzsaw. Feminists, leftists, and well-known personalities skewered Harrison as misogynistic, extremist, hypocritical, sexist, homophobic — and those were the kind adjectives. LGBT activists at GLAAD described the kicker’s comments as “a clear miss” and “woefully out of step with Americans…” — an assessment that fans wasted no time debunking.
Butker’s sin, at least in the eyes of the far-left, is refusing to keep quiet about the woke cancer eating its way through American culture.
To the graduates of Benedictine College in Atchison, the three-time Super Bowl champion spoke plainly — about Joe Biden’s phony Catholicism, about the horrors of transgenderism and abortion, about the church’s refusal to speak into the moral issues of the day.
“These are the sorts of things we are told in polite society to not bring up,” he admitted to the Class of 2024. “You know, the difficult and unpleasant things. But if we are going to be men and women for this time in history, we need to stop pretending that the ‘Church of Nice’ is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act in charity, but never mistake charity for cowardice.”
He explained that he “never envisioned” himself, “nor wanted, to have this sort of platform, but God has given it to me, so I have no other choice but to embrace it and preach more hard truths…” But the reality, he told the crowd, is that faith “has always been countercultural.” “Our Lord, along with countless followers, were all put to death for their adherence to her teachings. The world around us says that we should keep our beliefs to ourselves whenever they go against the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We fear speaking truth, because now, unfortunately, truth is in the minority.” The time has come, Harrison urged, “to [say] the difficult stuff out loud.”
What Butker said is so important as Scripture shows us that we are living in the time of the end when persecution of Christians intensifies.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14
“Affirming motherhood and praising your wife,” Tavia continued, “as well as highlighting the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a mother, is not bigoted. It is empowering to acknowledge that a woman’s hard work in raising children is not in vain. Countless highly educated women devote their lives to nurturing and guiding their children. Someone disagreeing with you doesn’t make them hateful; it simply means they have a different opinion.”
Her daughter, Grace, echoed those comments on “Fox and Friends,” telling the audience that she was blessed by her own experience growing up with a stay-at-home mom. “And I understand that there are many women out there who can’t make that decision but for me in my life, I know it was really formative in shaping me and my siblings to be who we are.” Steve Doocy asked, “So you understand what [Butker] was talking about?” “For sure,” she replied, “and I really respect Harrison and his Christian faith and what he’s accomplished on and off the field.”
Some surprising celebrities also came to Harrison’s defense, including firebrand Whoopie Goldberg, who stunned viewers by suggesting, “These are his beliefs, and he’s welcome to them. I don’t have to believe them,” she pointed out. “I don’t have [to] accept them.”
Outlets like the Babylon Bee mocked the NFL’s double standard — bashing a positive role model on one hand while elevating questionable characters on the other. “Harrison Butker does not reflect our values,’ says League of Woman Beaters,” the parody account jabbed. Others, like the New York Post’s Kirsten Fleming, piled on. “Never mind the NFL could support its own police blotter every season. Players charged with domestic assault or drunk driving aren’t uncommon. Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, who pleaded guilty to domestic violence in 2015 and was briefly suspended by the Chiefs in 2019 during a child abuse investigation, had two paternity suits slapped on him last year. But we need to get rid of a man who teared up while speaking lovingly of his wife’s unconditional support?”
Meanwhile, as the PR storm swirls on, visitors to Butker’s X account will see a single pinned tweet: “We mustn’t squander this period of the world’s history which God has entrusted to each one of us (St. Josemaria Escriva).” It’s safe to say the only thing squandered was the media’s chance to respect truth when it finally encountered some.
