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NFL punters usually aren’t the guys making headlines, but we were treated to a very notable exception earlier this month courtesy of Harrison Butker. The commencement speech the Chiefs veteran delivered has been a very hot topic of conversation, and now, Travis and Jason Kelce have entered the chat.
By now, you’re probably aware of the fairly controversial comments Harrison Butker delivered after being invited to address the graduating class at Benedictine College on May 11th, as he used the platform to share his thoughts on birth control and gender roles while rubbing plenty of people the wrong way in the process.
The speech became an incredibly hot topic of conversation, as Butker was admonished by a spokesperson for the NFL as well as a group of nuns at the Catholic school and was soundly dragged by notable names including Jamie Erdahl, Michelle Beadle, and Kelly Stafford (although he did have at least one ally in the form of Gracie Hunt).
Now, we have a new perspective on the matter courtesy of someone who knows Butker fairly well: Travis Kelce, who discussed the speech with his brother Jason on the newest episode of the New Heights podcast.
We’d previously heard from some other members of the Kansas City Chiefs in the form of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, and Travis said he agreed with what his QB had to say while noting Butker “is every bit of a great person and a great teammate” before adding:
“I can’t say I agree with the majority of it—or just about any of it outside of him loving his family and his kids— and I don’t think that I should judge him on his views—especially his religious views—about how to go about life.”
He also minimized the impact the drama surrounding Butker will have on the Chiefs, saying, “You put your differences aside with one goal in common. That’s the beauty of team sports. That’s the beauty of the NFL.”
Jason also issued a refreshingly balanced take on the situation while implying the backlash was somewhat overblown, adding:
“There’s always going to be opinions everybody shares that you’re gonna disagree with—and make no mistake about it, a lot of the things he said in his commencement speech are not things I align myself with. But, he’s giving a commencement speech at a Catholic university and—shocker—it ended up being a very religious and Catholic speech.
To me, I can listen to somebody talk and take value in it, like when he’s talking about the importance of family and the importance a great mother can make while also acknowledging not everybody has to be a homemaker if that’s not what they want to do in life.
When you’re listening to somebody, you take in things that you like, you listen to other things, and you say, ‘I don’t f—— like that’… If you don’t like what somebody says, all you gotta do is say, ‘That guy’s a f—— idiot’ and just move on.”
He couldn’t stop himself from having some fun at Butker’s expense by jokingly saying he told his wife Kylie to go make him a sandwich after she expressed her displeasure with the punter’s comments, but that’s one of the better responses I’ve seen.