In the identical 20-minute graduation speech at Benedictine Faculty in Kansas Saturday (Could 11), Kansas Metropolis Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker each discouraged feminine graduates from pursuing careers outdoors of homemaking whereas quoting objectively one of many world’s hardest-working profession ladies: Taylor Swift, whom he known as “my teammate’s girlfriend.”
The 28-year-old athlete, who shares two youngsters with spouse Isabelle, additionally condemned President Joe Biden, abortion, contraception, Satisfaction Month and “the cultural emasculation of males” throughout his controversial tackle on the Catholic liberal arts faculty, who shared the speech on its YouTube web page. Nevertheless it was whereas he was admonishing bishops who he says achieve an excessive amount of satisfaction “from the adulation they obtain from their parishioners” and “turn into overly acquainted” that he dropped in a line from the pop star’s Midnights single “Bejeweled.”
“This undue familiarity will show to be problematic each time,” Butker stated with a smile. “As a result of as my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt.’”
The teammate in query, in fact, is tight finish Travis Kelce, who has been relationship Swift since final summer time. Along with championing the LGBTQ neighborhood, the 14-time Grammy winner has been open about her feminist beliefs — which in all probability don’t align with what Butker stated subsequent within the speech.
“For the women current in the present day, congratulations on a tremendous accomplishment,” he continued. “I wish to converse on to you briefly, as a result of I believe it’s you, the ladies, who’ve had probably the most diabolical lies informed to you.”
“What number of of you might be sitting right here now, about to cross this stage, and are interested by all the promotions and titles you’ll get in your profession?” Butker went on. “A few of you might go on to steer profitable careers on this planet, however I’d enterprise to guess that almost all of you might be most enthusiastic about your marriage and the youngsters you’ll carry into this world.”
“I can inform you that my stunning spouse, Isabelle, can be the primary to say her life actually began when she began residing her vocation as a spouse and as a mom,” he added, noting that homemaker is “one of the essential titles of all.” “Isabelle’s dream of getting a profession won’t have come true, however in case you ask her in the present day if she has any regrets on her resolution, she would snicker out loud with out hesitation, and say, ‘Heck no.’”
Billboard has reached out to the Chiefs and NFL for remark.
The Chiefs have gained a military of recent followers prior to now yr, because of Swift’s affiliation with the group and her attendance at a number of video games at Arrowhead Stadium over the course of the 2023-24 season. And whereas some individuals on-line have praised Butker for expressing his values through the graduation speech, lots of those self same Swifties/soccer followers are taking to social media to slam the group’s kicker.
“Harrison Butker gave a misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic graduation speech after which quoted Taylor Swift?” one particular person tweeted. “Dude. That’s so tousled.”
“I dare Harrison Butker to inform Taylor Swift she has no worth except she is a spouse, mom, and homemaker,” wrote one other fan.
See extra reactions under.