Kansas City Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Stands by What He Said in Controversial Commencement Speech: 'I Was Really Intentional'
Harrison Butker hasn't changed his mind on his belief that women should embrace the role of a "homemaker."
While speaking with local reporters at the Kansas City Chiefs' training camp on Wednesday, August 7, the NFL kicker doubled down on his controversial remarks made during an infamous commencement speech at Benedictine College back in May.
"In terms of what I said, I’ve prayed about it, and thought about it and I was really intentional behind what I said," Butker declared, insisting his comments came from "a place of love."
Butker assured he "respected all the viewpoints" of the countless amount of people who spoke out both backing and disagreeing with the athlete's speech, noting the situation positively resulted in "tons of conversations in the locker room" and allowed his teammates to better "understand each other."
"I really believe if people knew me as a person, and understood that it was coming from a place of love, and not a place of trying to attract or put people down..." the three-time Super Bowl champion mentioned. "I only want the best for people, that’s what I was trying to say there. I think the people that were in that gymnasium all understood what I was saying."
"My whole career I’ve talked about how I’m a husband and I’m a father before it comes to me as a kicker," Harrison — who shares three kids with his wife, Isabelle Butker — continued, admitting it was "something I always preached."
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The Chiefs player claimed: "But then when I use that to talk about women and I say that they should embrace and love being wives and mothers over their career — I think then it gets misconstrued that I'm trying to put women down, which I'm not at all."
"I love women," Harrison added. "I love my wife. My wife had never heard me speak publicly and she was there for that moment. She was up in the background in one of the offices up there and I was getting emotional looking at her crying and understand that she has sacrificed so much for me."
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"She has completely changed her life around and she has made sure she is focused on being the ultimate wife and the ultimate mother and I love her so much for that," Harrison concluded. "[To] see how happy and excited she is day to day to wake up and embrace that life, she pushes me to be a better husband and a better father and focus on my three children and focus on her over maybe trying to be the best kicker I can be out on that field."
The Georgia Tech alum recently addressing his controversial commencement speech comes roughly three months after the professional football kicker was completely torn apart by social media users — including a number of A-list celebrities — criticizing his sexist remarks.