NFL Releases Statement On Harrison Butker, Distances Itself From His Controversial Views

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The NFL has released a statement regarding the controversial comments that Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made during a commencement speech.

Speaking at Benedictine College in Kansas, Butker made headlines by saying, among other things, that Pride Month is a sin and that women have been told a “diabolical lie” about pursuing careers.

Because Butker’s speech became one of the biggest stories in the sports world this week, the NFL found itself in the position on having to give a statement on Butker’s comments, saying that his views are “not those of the NFL as an organization.”

“In a statement obtained by TODAY.com, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, Jonathan Beane, said the kicker ‘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.”

According to TODAY, despite asking for one, neither the Chiefs nor Butker responded to their requests for comment.

Butker’s comments have caused people to reevaluate things that his teammates have said about him in the past, such as Patrick Mahomes saying back in February that he doesn’t speak to Butker and just lets him “do his thing.”

“I don’t talk to Harrison all year long, man, I just let him do his thing,” the three-time Super Bowl champion told McAfee and co. back in February. “We sit right beside each other in the team meeting and I don’t say one word to him — only before the season and after the season, that’s the only time I talk to him.”

Those who disagree with Butker’s comments, particularly his feelings about women, have also pointed to the fact that Butker’s mother Elizabeth Keller Butker, is a medical physicist at the Emory University Department of Radiation Oncology, which certainly does not fall in line with Butker’s belief that the most important title a woman can have is that of “homemaker.”