Despite the public celebration of hundreds of celebrities and organizations, including the NFL itself, one NFL team has notably refrained from publicly celebrating Pride Month.
Kansas City Chiefs and Pride Month
Where team after team of various sports organizations have jumped at the opportunity to celebrate Pride Month with posts declaring their unity with the LGBTQ+ community, the Kansas City Chiefs have been noticeably absent.
NFL Teams’ Silence
However, the Chiefs are not alone. Other NFL teams, such as the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, and Tennessee Titans, have similarly remained silent on Pride Month.
Profiting Off Merch
While these teams may not have publicly acknowledged Pride Month with a post on social media, they are selling Pride merchandise through the official NFL Shop.
The Kicker’s Speech
Notably, the Kansas City Chief’s kicker brought himself into the center of a media frenzy after delivering an anti-LGBTQ+ graduation speech at Benedictine College.
Criticism and Praise
Throughout the speech, Butker criticized Pride month, working women, abortion rights activists, and more, which has now received a great deal of both criticism and praise.
The Sin of Pride
In the speech, Butker described Pride Month as “sinful” and said he developed his views from his Catholic faith and later doubled down on his comments.
NFL Response
In response to Butker’s speech, the NFL released a statement saying, “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
Kansas City’s Inclusion
The former chairman of the Kansas City LGBTQ Commission, Justice Horn, also criticized the speech for not representing the inclusive values of Kansas City.
A Place That Welcomes
Horn wrote on X, “Harrison Butker doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members.”
Telling Silence
Despite Horn’s statement, the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs have still not made any acknowledgment of Pride Month seems somewhat telling, given the controversy this speech brought about.
The Petition for Butker
There was even a petition created that demanded Butker be removed from the Kansas City Chiefs and garnered over 85,000 signatures following the speech.
Dehumanizing Remarks
The petition stated, “These dehumanizing remarks against LGBTQ+ individuals, attacks on abortion rights and racial discrimination perpetuate division and undermine human rights.”
Traditional Family Values
In the speech, Butker also discussed “family values,” like the traditional roles of men and women within the household, and urged students to follow these archetypes.
A Different Generation
“We need a different generation of kids that are willing to say no that’s not right, there is such a thing as right and wrong, I’m not going to in for all of this lefty garbage and I just thought that his calls for folks to stand up and be bold was great.”
A Societal Disorder
Butker also took some time to criticize various aspects of the political landscape, targeting various modern policies and cultural trends that he likened to a societal disorder.
Pervasiveness of Disorder
“The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder.”
A Clear Miss
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) condemned his speech as “a clear miss” and “woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people, and women.”
Reflecting the Values of the School
The School’s local paper, the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Saint Scholastica, issued a statement disavowing Butker’s comments and emphasized that they did not reflect the values of Benedictine College.
What the Founders Envisioned
“The sisters … do not believe that Harrison Butker’s comments … represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested.”
Fostered Division
The conclusion of their statement said, “Instead of promoting unity in our church, our nation, and the world, his comments seem to have fostered division.”
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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Matt Fowler KC.
