Kansas City Chief placekicker, Harrison Butker, raised himself from relative anonymity with a commencement speech at Benedictine College (Atchison, Kansas) last week. He spoke of Catholicism, of Catholic and traditional values to Catholic kids at a Catholic college. He spoke of “controversial” things like the importance of family, the domestic church, and our distinct roles within the family. The reaction from one-channel media, the NFL, and public figures–the elite who believe they control the narrative–has been overwhelmingly negative. Of course, Mr. Butker probably thought this speech would not travel beyond Atchison. Without seemingly trying, he put the elite in their place. How dare he?
https://www.ncregister.com/news/harrison-butker-speech-at-benedictine
One-channel media wants the rest of us to keep our religion private in exchange for defending our First Amendment rights. They avoid actual debates with folks like Mr. Butker; they would rather scream at the sky than rebut a single point. They say biology determines our gender or sexual identity and demand we believe in this science, but deny biology influences our career and countless other decisions, both big and small, and say we are hateful to think otherwise. They certainly do not want little known athletes to speak about politics if those politics don’t align with their own. They brag our president is a devout Catholic despite being at odds with basic Catholic principles; it is galling for a mere football player to remind them of their dishonesty.
So, was Mr. Butker courageous for speaking up or foolhardy for challenging the elite? Were his words sensible or not? Was he truly controversial?
Reactions
The Benedictine College students themselves seemed largely positive. One graduate, although a critic herself, acknowledged most in the audience were positive and gave Mr. Butker a standing ovation when finished:
“Alright, well, since I have about two hundred of y’all, congratulating me and asking me what the f—k I was thinking during the speech, I thought I’d respond,” Leisegang said in the video. “It was f—king horrible. Some of us did boo. Me and my roommate definitely did.”
“There was a standing ovation from everyone in the room. Except from me, my roommate and about 10 to 15 other women […] You also have to keep in mind this was at a Catholic and conservative college. So, a lot of the men were like, ‘f—k yeah,’ they were excited,” Leisegang said.
What was the problem from this critic’s perspective?
“But it was horrible. Most of the women were looking back and forth at each other like, ‘What the f—k is going on?’ Like, did he just come here to speak about politics and his views on women? That’s all you got for graduation, commencement speech. Are you kidding?”
LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, Taylor Swift, Robert DeNiro and an unending host of athletes and celebrities are continually political, but how dare a conservative athlete speak of politics. How dare he remind us men and women might be biologically distinct when so many want to believe otherwise?
The NFL, silent on questionable actions of so many players, immediately distanced themselves from Mr. Butker:
“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. “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.”
Mr. Butker spoke to Catholics regarding Catholic principles. He is supposed to be inclusive of the pro-choice crowd and other critics? I think not.
What does the NFL know inclusivity in any case? Is the NFL inclusive when honoring a former player who left the league in disgrace (after caught on video punching and dragging his fiancé)? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/baltimore-ravens-stir-controversy-honoring-ray-rice-decade-domestic-vi-rcna131762, Is the NFL inclusive of victims when they ignore their players’ domestic assaults, drunk driving incidents and worse?
The View co-host Sara Haines is even worse than the NFL. She negatively compared Harrison Butker to Colin Kaepernick who was defended by the league for his National Anthem “protest” and then really went off the deep end:
“Colin Kaepernick was standing up for the rights of many and saying in a social justice moment, ‘This is a reminder that we’re not there yet,’” Haines said. “What this man is doing is not just a devout Catholic, this is someone who’s practicing something called the traditional Latin Mass, which is a divergent from the majority of Catholics. It’s being compared to being quote, ‘an extremist,’ like some religions in the Middle East and Asia. So, this is a very extreme religion.”
Ms. Haines knows nothing about Catholicism. Catholic masses were exclusively in Latin for nearly 2,000 years (until 1964). Many Catholic parishes still offer weekly Latin masses. They are sanctioned by Church hierarchy, and are not divergent from Catholicism in the least. Even during our English mass, we sometimes pray or sing in Latin. God forbid we sing a Spanish hymn! However, Ms. Haines tells her audience Catholics are radicalized by simply praying the “Our Father” in Latin. Her comments are prejudicial, not to mention blatantly ignorant. Her comments, not Mr. Butker’s, should be skewered and commented upon by all.
Finally, I offer one more random comment from an outraged NFL fan (from Instagram):
“Cut Butker or lose fans. I would never want my younger brother or son to look up to him,” wrote another. “His speech was demeaning, uneducated, misogynistic and laced in male insecurity.”
Yes, destroy Mr. Butker’s career for talking about his faith. Was Mr. Butker demeaning and misognyistic like QB DeShaun Watson who had more than 20 incidents of domestic abuse? https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2022/6/16/22346818/deshaun-watsons-sexual-assault-allegations-explained
Can we compare Harrison Butker to NFL players Ray Lewis, Marshall Faulk, Derrick Thomas, Willis McGee, Travis Henry, Antonio Cromartie, and Bennie Blades who collectively fathered 59 illegitimate children with 45 different women? https://www.complex.com/sports/a/ralph-warner/athletes-with-the-most-children-by-the-most-women. The NFL bends over backward to keep these players indiscretions as quiet as possible.
At least teammate Chris Jones supported his buddy, one of the few NFL players to do so.
Women and Careers
Let’s consider a few of the comments that drew so much ire. The following comment stands out; it caused great apoplexy for one-channel media:
I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you, how many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career. 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. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.
Is this comment actually misogynistic? It was greeted by a round of applause from an approving crowd. Are all those who applauded misogynistic as well? Why not ask NFL player, DeShaun Watson, of domestic abuse fame, for his view on misogyny?
One-channel media reflexively cringes at promotion of marriage and family. It is certainly possible many of the Benedictine College graduates are indeed excited about getting married and having kids. They did applaud this comment, after all. It is also possible many are not yet thinking of these things, but may be in the near future. Is it problematic for Butker to highlight this possibility or are media upset with women who might actually agree with him? How dare these women subsume their careers to support the patriarchy’s view of marriage?
Although a male, my own life is a testament to this notion. I am a father who has worked 41 years for the same employer. I have enjoyed my job, had numerous wonderful experiences, memories, friends, titles, promotions, awards, accomplishments, etc. during those years, yet my greatest accomplishment was in raising children. Being a father defines my life as much as anything. When I introduce myself, I always mention my marriage and children. On the other hand, I have sometimes known people for years without them being aware of my profession (and vice versa).
He talks about family. I don’t think we have enough people talking about the foundations of families and the importance, and the seriousness of parenthood. If you are going to embark on being a parent, I do think it’s got to be the most important thing in your life. If your kids are not the most important thing in you and your wife’s life, you are failing, in my opinion. Jason Kelce, NFL player
We put on our gravestones: loving father, devoted husband, best friend, etc. How often are our careers highlighted in this ultimate memorial? How often do we put net worth on a gravestone? I can’t remember ever seeing such. And what do we regret at the end of our lives: not making enough money, not attending enough meetings, or not doing better in our relationships?
How much more pronounced are such feelings regarding family and relationships for women? My mother would know all your familial relationships within ten minutes of meeting you. It is what mattered most to her.
Mr. Butker does not say women in the workplace is problematic, but he rejects the notion the workplace is more fulfilling than raising children and caring for the family. I know countless others, male and female, who agree. Furthermore, he challenges the claim men and women are interchangeable. What heterodoxy! Yet, the truth is differences between the sexes are often stark, and we should not deny our biology because feminists demand a world more to their own liking or more fair towards women.
Biology drives so many of our responses. Women are forced to commit to children during nine months of pregnancy; men are involved during the first nine months but certainly not committed in the same manner. Many women breast-feed children for a year or two, committing their bodies to their children yet again. Women bond with children far more than men in those first few years. Therefore, it is natural, indeed biologically driven, for women to nurture children. We all know these things instinctively. Psychologists publish studies regarding this obvious fact:
I will be the first to admit that “Why do mothers care more about their children than fathers?” is not a very pretty question. But, before you answer with an angry “They don’t!”, note that it has been consistently shown that money given to mothers is far more likely to be spent in a way that benefits their children than is money given to fathers.
Kids instinctively gravitate towards mom for protection because moms are generally more understanding, more forgiving, less direct, and less harsh. As Mr. Butker implies: when men and women fulfill their different roles within a family, we are better for it. Can male and females roles be reversed at times? Certainly, but he does not talk of the exception. What is so controversial about these straightforward notions?
Mr. Butker and us Latin mass extremists, also acknowledge women do have choices. Nobody seeks to deny women these options: to delay having children, to pursue both career and family, or perhaps to forgo children and focus on career only. Being a father was not important to me in my youth either. My twenty years as a single male with a career were simpler and less complicated, but life has been better and more fulfilling since marriage.
I will acknowledge these alternatives may even be the best choices for some. However, the reverse is problematic for feminists and others. A woman’s choice to have many children, to forgo (or delay) a career, to dedicate life to family, etc. should not be considered problematic either. Yet these choices are continually derided. Many look askance at a family of four kids, something which was more common sixty years ago. Homemaker has become a pejorative, but it shouldn’t be one. My mother was a homemaker for forty years. It was not an easy job–then or today. She never complained of being stuck in this role. She did the job well and she was happy. It is an honorable choice, one appreciated by discerning individuals:
Who can find* a woman of worth? Far beyond jewels is her value. Her husband trusts her judgment; he does not lack income. She brings him profit, not loss, all the days of her life. She seeks out wool and flax and weaves with skillful hands. Like a merchant fleet, she secures her provisions from afar. She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household, a portion to her maidservants. She picks out a field and acquires it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength; she exerts her arms with vigor.
She enjoys the profit from her dealings; her lamp is never extinguished at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She is not concerned for her household when it snows—all her charges are doubly clothed. She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing. Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom; kindly instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, praises her: “Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.” Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Proverbs 31:10-30
My own wife switched to part-time and didn’t pursue an upwardly mobile path after having kids. For years, before work, she drove an hour every morning to drop kids at the grandparents. She made lunches, drove kids to school, and did many other traditional roles. What she did was not uncommon, nor problematic. Throughout my own career, I have encountered many women who quit jobs, moved to another state, reduced their hours, etc. to accommodate their family or their husbands careers. Perhaps it is unfair, or perhaps women are more amenable to sacrificing for family than men (men sacrifice as well, but in different ways). women-more-than-men-adjust-their-careers-for-family. Mr. Butker is simply telling us to accept biology. That is not tantamount to misogyny.
Even Leftist Bill Maher acknowledges such choices are actually comfortable for many women:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bill-maher-says-doesn-t-043910401.html
“I don’t get the thing he said, talking to women, ‘Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world.’ OK, that seems fairly modern,” Maher said before continuing to read the football player’s remarks. “‘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.’ I don’t see what the big crime is, I really don’t.”
Maher explained, “I think this is part of the problem people have with the left, is that lots of people in this country are like this. Like he’s saying some of you may go on to successful careers, but a lot of you are excited about this other way that people, everybody used to be and now can. Can’t that just be a choice too? And I feel like they feel very put upon like there’s only one way to be a good person and that’s to get an advanced degree from one of those asphalt factories like Harvard.”
Sign of the Cross
Mr. Butker’s main focus is on problems within Catholicism. He is first critical of clerical leadership. He then extends these criticisms to Catholic laity in prominent positions, including President Biden:
Our own nation is led by 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. He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.
This is what many consider the political portion of the speech, but it is President Biden’s open defiance of Catholic teachings, not his economic or foreign policies, that are being criticized. Butker is directing this portion to fellow Catholics. The sad fact is a majority of Catholics do not even support a strict pro-life position. A Catholic president who openly promotes abortion and supports the more extreme pro-choice positions is an awful representative of the faith and a bad influence on other Catholics. Mr. Butker seeks to strengthen the integrity of his own faith by criticizing someone who is actively harming the faith.
This much I know about God: He is not happy with abortion nor with President Biden’s affirmation of such action. He is pleased when his faithful stand against this abomination.
Furthermore, many Catholic clergy have expressed the exact same concern as Mr. Butker–and in even stronger terms. Even the liberal Pope Francis has remained steadfast in opposition to abortion. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/may/12/bishops-upbraid-biden-crossing-himself-abortion-ra/
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants Deuteronomy 30:19
LGBTQ
Mr. Butker refers to “people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America,” and “a growing support for degenerate cultural values in media”. He also laments: “the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.” Clearly he is opposed to the rapidly spreading LGBTQ agenda, but he does not address these issues directly; therefore, I add my own addendum to the speech. This issue needs to be addressed as directly the others.
If I claim that gender ideology is not based in reality or if I remind others the bible is highly critical of certain perverse sexual behaviors, I am considered a threat to LGBTQ individuals. I am supposedly engaging in “hate speech”. Nonsense. The flaw in our culture is that so many seek to find themselves, seek their own identity: gender identity, sexual identity, or other. We should seek God’s identity instead. He is the way, the truth, and the life, after all. We are inextricably tied to our creator, and knowing our creator, helps us know ourselves better. We cannot find our own identity or discern the meaning of life, without better understanding God first.
A Fitting Contrast
It is amazing what our culture tolerates when someone belongs to a group who should not be criticized. The NFL, a few years ago, treated Colin Kaepernick, whose own protest harmed the game itself, with kid gloves:
NFL Predictably Condemns Harrison Butker, The ‘Views’ In His Graduation Speech | OutKick
Butker, a devout Catholic, did not express his views while wearing an NFL uniform or in a room full of media members, he shared them during a commencement speech to a group of graduating students at a small university on his own time.
The NFL never condemned Kaepernick. In fact, league commissioner Roger Goodell admitted in 2020 that “we were wrong” for not listening to the former quarterback and others who were peacefully protesting.
Colin Kaepernick during games wore socks that depicted cops as pigs, bombastically complained about justice in America, the most free and just nation ever, and started a movement that lost the NFL large numbers of fans. His words were lauded; his freedom of speech was defended, and he was awarded a multi-million dollar contract by Nike after leaving football. The NFL also provided an unprecedented opportunity to highlight his (by then) lackluster skills (an opportunity he never took advantage of). The NFL was loath to criticize a black player for fear of being labeled racist. Harrison Butker, on the other hand, is white (and therefore a legitimate target), promotes his Catholic faith, traditional values, and complains about the loss of cultural values in a low-key fashion and in an off-the-field setting. Many publicly call for his termination; he is called uneducated, misogynistic, demeaning, insecure, and more. Few defend him, yet he is the one who has shown far more courage (and benefited far less) than Mr. Kaepernick.
The two are an interesting contrast, a contrast that tells us much about the problems in our culture.
Kansas City Chief Head Coach, Andy Reid, commented on his player’s speech during a press conference. He seems like another who does not withhold speech for fear of offending others:
“He has opinions, and we all respect that,” Reid said. “I let you guys in this room, and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like.”
Yes, let him say what he is compelled to say in the same way Mr. Kaepernick was allowed to speak. However, Mr. Butker has something positive to say and his words contain wisdom and obvious truths we need to hear more often.
Praise be to Jesus Christ–now and forever.
Dave https://seek-the-truth.com/about/
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