Butker, a devout Catholic, angered many last week when the Kansas City Chiefs kicker delivered a pro-Christian, pro-family, pro-life speech to graduates at Benedictine College, a conservative Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas.
His comments have been slammed as sexist, homophobic, racist, anti-trans and anti-abortion – almost everything but anti-Israel.
An online petition demanding his firing was started May 13 and had received more than 219,000 signatures as of Monday morning.
A counter-petition simply stating “I support Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker” was started two days later by conservative media figure Jon Root and had received 16,991 signatures as of Monday morning.
David Closson, director for The Center for Biblical Worldview at the Family Research Council, has been watching the unhinged reaction to Butker. On the Washington Watch program, Closson said the Chiefs kicker dared to criticize the "sacraments" of the Left, beginning with the lies of feminism about the family.
"These are such sacred cows on the Far Left that when someone – he’s a three-time Super Bowl champion – when he dared to suggest an alternative, a Christian perspective, a Christian worldview that diverges from the accepted secular orthodoxy, there’s this firestorm," Closson said.
Butker grew up in Decatur, Georgia and played collegiately at Georgia Tech. Not only is he outspoken, he’s good at his job. His 57-yard field goal against the San Francisco 49ers in February was the longest in Super Bowl history.
His 89.1% field goal success rate ranks second in NFL history.
While the Chiefs have issued no official statement on Butker’s comments, the NFL was quick to distance itself from the Super Bowl champ.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief DEI officer, wrote to People magazine in a prepared statement. “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.”
Butker takes on 'Pride Month'
Just days before the most beloved month on the Left’s calendar, "Pride Month," Butker referred to Pride Month as a “a deadly sin that has an entire month dedicated to it.”
Butker also called out President Joe Biden as a “man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith but at the same time is delusional enough to make the Sign of the Cross during a pro-abortion rally.”
Butker called out Catholic church leadership, too.
But the Left’s greatest anger was reserved for Butker’s comment on the importance of the woman’s role in the home, Closson said.
“What he specifically said to the female graduates: Some of you are going to graduate and go on to have successful careers, but I imagine most of you are most excited about marriage and the children that you will bring into the world," Closson recalled. "Very movingly he actually choked up at one point and talked about his wife, and the most important title that his wife holds is that of homemaker."
Closson said he counted 18 seconds of steady applause after that line.
"That was the only time that [Butker] had to stop speaking because the crowd of devout Catholic families, parents and graduates, they loved it, they ate it up," the FRC leader said.
From there Butker pivoted and addressed the men.
“He talked about how men are told it’s not necessary for them to be in the home and in the community, the importance of men setting the tone in their communities, how men should use their skills for God’s glory,” Closson said.
The well-publicized response of the Left may make it appear that Butker’s comments are shared only by a fringe minority. That’s not true, Closson said.
“These views that we hold that stem from scripture on the sanctity of life, the sanctity and dignity of marriage, the exclusivity of the gospel, the way of salvation, these actually are shared by tens of millions of Americans. When those of us who hold these convictions enter the public square and profess these values and beliefs, by the way, values that our culture depends on and that our nation was founded on, the Left increasingly gets so frustrated it can’t stand it,” he said.
Few with Chiefs speak out … but the ladies do
The Chiefs officially have been silent on the matter, but some in the organization have spoken out in support of Butker.
Gracie Hunt, the eldest daughter of team CEO/chairman Clark Hunt, in an appearance on Fox and Friends said, “I can only speak from my own experience, which is I’ve had the most incredible mom who had the ability to stay home and be with us as kids growing up, 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.”
Gracie’s mom and Clark’s wife, Tavia Hunt, didn’t mention Butker by name in her Instagram post last Thursday but called for celebrating “families, motherhood and fatherhood.”
One of Butker’s teammates, defensive lineman Chris Jones, a Mississippi native, wrote “I love you @buttkicker7! My brotha,” to his X account on May 16.
Closson said America has gotten caught up in a “moral revolution” with uncommon speed for social change.
“In the last 20-25 years, our nation really has taken a sharp turn away from biblical values, and unfortunately this is reflected in biblical literacy, drops in the incidents of biblical worldview," Closson warned. "We have a militant secularism. We have things like the LGBT moral revolution."
Remember what we do have
With all that’s going on, Closson said, it’s important to remember the religious freedoms available to Americans, beginning with the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.
“We have the Religious Freedom Restoration Act," he continued. "We have these things in place that are worth fighting for, and we need to continue to fight for that to allow us as Christians to have religious freedom to believe what we want in terms of doctrine and theology, and the freedom to order our lives in accordance with these values. These values will go away if we don’t fight for them and articulate for them."
