Social media slams Harrison Butker for 'sexist' commencement speech: 'You kick a silly little ball'
Harrison Butker, a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, has become one of the internet's most hotly discussed people after a commencement speech he delivered earlier this week went viral for its message rife with rhetoric that has been widely recognized as misogynistic and homophobic.
Butker managed to make enemies of several groups with his 20-minute speech, including but not limited to women and female-presenting people, Swifties, the LGBTQIA+ community, Jewish people, people of certain political parties and people impacted by COVID.
"I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you," Butker said at one point during his speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution in Atchison, Kansas. "Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world."
He went on to say that his wife would agree with the assertion that "homemaker" is the most important position for a woman, saying, "I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother."
He also took time to crusade against Joe Biden and the LGBTQIA+ community, disparaging the existence of Pride month and speaking on "dangerous gender ideologies."
More:Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's speech was ugly. He's only part of a bigger problem.
"Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it," Butker said, "but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify Him."
Butker also shared his thoughts on COVID-19, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the United States.
"While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique," Butker said. "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."
Multiple petitions have since been created to demand Butker's resignation or dismissal from the league.
Harrison Butker dubbed 'Smallest Man Who Ever Lived' after Taylor Swift quote
Despite these assertions and his criticism of working women, Butker also quoted Taylor Swift in his speech, one of the most successful music artists of all time who currently boasts a $1.1 billion net worth, according to Forbes.
"This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time," Butker said, referring to Swift's relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. "Because as my teammate's girlfriend says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt.'"
Naturally, this did not land well with Switfies, who quickly began using another song to describe him: "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived," a track from Swift's recent album "The Tortured Poets Department."
The backlash came in two-fold for Butker's insistence on calling Swift his "teammate's girlfriend," considering Swift is an international superstar and Kelce's fame and net worth trail significantly behind her own.
More:Chiefs' Harrison Butker strikes against Pride Month, lauds wife's role as 'homemaker'
Social media users slams Butker's 'hypocrisy' and 'ignorance'
The irony of Butker's mother being an accomplished physicist with multiple degrees was likewise not lost on the internet. Elizabeth Keller Butker MS, DABR, is a Clinical Medical Physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine.
Between her MS in medical physics from Georgia Institute of Technology and her nearly 40-year career in the field, social media users couldn't help but point out that Keller Butker not only didn't appear to stay home in her kitchen, as her son attested is the primary role of women, but also worked a lucrative career that benefited her son and the family's financial situation greatly.
The people of TikTok quickly took to the platform to start a trend of empowered women sharing their many accomplishments, with some pointing out that their jobs as scientists, doctors, teachers and beyond require more education and know-how than "kicking a ball."
Many set their videos to the song "Labour" by Paris Paloma, a feminist anthem that explores and pushes back at the historical subjugation of women.
One such video posted by user "World.of.grace" shared a slideshow of her accomplishments, including working through nursing school, graduating with the highest honors and becoming a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit.
"But you kick a silly little ball," she says in the penultimate slide before sharing an image of herself in a football uniform with the caption "What, like it's hard?" Beneath the video, she clarifies "I wasn't the kicker, I was the cornerback."
Another TikTok, posted by MIT engineer and space expert Emily Calandrelli, challenged universities to "maybe let women choose your commencement speaker next year," accompanied by a video of herself preparing to deliver a different commencement speech with the caption "there are better options." The post has more than 4 million views and 1 million likes.
Other videos under the sound compared the speech to a scene from "The Handmaid's Tale," warning women, "When a man like this feels comfortable making that speech at a college graduation in 2024, we are in danger, ladies."
"You kick around a football for a living. You and me? We aren't the same" said user @brittany.hoyle after sharing her credentials as an educator. "I won’t stand for disrespect from a man whose job is to kick a ball for triple my salary a year," she said in the caption.
Another woman going by the username @triplediesel hopped on the trend to discuss being raised by a single mother and going on to graduate Cume Laude with a BS in biomedical science while working two jobs, conducting and presenting research at prestigious institutions, and the process of applying to med school.
"You kick a ball for a living," she said on the final slide which featured a picture of Butker. "We are NOT the same."
NFL responds, Chargers take a jab at Butker
The NFL has already made efforts to separate themselves from Butker's comments, though many fans online have expressed distaste for what they feel to be a lackluster response from the league.
"Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity," said Jonathan Beane, the senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer at the NFL, in a 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."
Former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn also took to social media to condemn Butker, saying "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."
Other teams in the NFL jumped on the opportunity to diss Butker. The Los Angeles Chargers, known for sharing videos that poke fun at rival teams, posted its yearly NFL rollout schedule on Wednesday, a video made using The Sims and featuring digital characters look-alikes resembling teams and players.
The social media team couldn't help but take a jab at Butker, placing his character, complete with red number 7 jersey, in the same kitchen he told women to get back into during his speech.
Maren Morris, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager react to Harrison Butker's speech
Butker's speech was so unpopular with so many that it prompted outcry not only from average netizens but also from celebrities and public figures.
Singer-songwriter Maren Morris shared a clip of the speech on her Instagram stories soon after the video began to circulate, saying "I choose the bear," a reference to a trend in which women choose between encountering a bear or man in the woods and explain why. (Hint: the trend went extra viral after women began answering "the bear" by and large, opening up a conversation of violence committed against women by men.)
Maria Shriver, author, member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of The Women's Alzheimer's Movement, also shot back with a post on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram.
"What point was Harrison Butker really trying to make to women in his graduation speech about their present-day life choices? Did he really want them, aka us, to believe that our lives truly only begin when we lean into the vocation of wife and mother?" Shriver wrote.
"As a woman who has leaned into my vocation of living a meaningful life and working inside and outside the home to not only raise good humans but also raise up our country in various ways, I think it's demeaning to women to imply that their choices outside of wife and motherhood pale in comparison to that of homemaker," she added.
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager of "The Today Show" also ripped the speech, discussing it during a segment and pointing out, "Well, I’m where I am today because I have a husband who leans into his vocation which is being an equal partner, and I tell him that all the time. But also, who is he to tell us?"
Journalist and former sportscaster Lisa Guerrero also posted on X, addressing the NFL directly, saying: “Hey @NFL – If you want to continue to grow your female fan base and any other marginalized group (straight white men are already watching your product), come get your boy."
Even Flava Flav got in on the action, sharing a post on X, formerly Twitter, reading: "Sounds like some players need to stay in their lanes and shouldn’t be giving commencement speeches."
Whoopi Goldberg defends Harrison Butker amid controversial speech
A few prominent names defended Butker, including Whoopi Goldberg who said on talk show "The View" that she "likes it when people say what they need to say."
"He’s at a Catholic college, he’s a staunch Catholic. These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to them. I don’t have to believe them. I don’t have to accept them," the co-host added. "The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them."
Some commentators on social media also expressed support for Butker, arguing that he is practicing free speech or saying that he was simply right in his statements.
"Not a word Harrison Butker says here should be remotely controversial. He’s 100% correct," said T.J. Moe, a contributor to the conservative media site "The Blaze," in a post with 8.7k likes and 2.2k reshares. "Those trying to convince women that being assistant VP of lending & intentionally childless at age 40 is more fulfilling than making a family and home are evil."
