Current:Home > reviewsChiefs kicker Harrison Butker's speech was ugly. He's only part of a bigger problem. -Capitatum
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's speech was ugly. He's only part of a bigger problem.
Ethermac View
Date:2025-04-06 06:43:42
A question: Are the Kansas City Chiefs OK with one of their players, kicker Harrison Butker, saying women belong as homemakers?
The team has several women executive vice presidents who have careers outside of the kitchen. What do they think of this? The team has celebrated Women's History Month, not Woman You Better Get My Dinner on the Table Month.
"I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you," Butker said at a recent college commencement. "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 a mother," Butker added. "I’m on this stage, and able to be the man I am, because I have a wife who leans into her vocation."
Her vocation? Really? Did I slip and fall into a time machine and travel back to the 1950s?
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
“I’m beyond blessed with the many talents god has given me," he said, "but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker."
The team thus far has been silent about Butker's comments which don't stop with his antiquated views of a woman's role in society. He also went on an anti-LGBTQ rant.
Speaking of Pride month, Butker said: “Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the holy ghost to glorify him.”
The organization did not respond to an email request for comment.
But former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn did respond to Butker. He wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "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."
Before all of you Constitutional scholars chime in from your grammy's basement, I'm aware Butker can say whatever he wants, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should stay silent.
On social media, one of the prevailing sentiments was that Butker was just an idiot kicker and didn't matter. That's false. Not the part about him being an idiot. That's true. The part about him not mattering.
He's a key part of a Super Bowl champion team. He plays in the most popular sport in the country. His words will carry and while they have the waft of Archie Bunker's couch, they shouldn't be ignored. We should take every opportunity to push back against this type of extremist, Neanderthalic view of the world.
(It's also interesting to see right-wing and white nationalist platforms that usually tell athletes of color to shut up and dribble championing Butker's remarks. Maybe interesting isn't the word for it.)
Read more KC Chiefs news:Harrison Butker strikes against Pride Month, lauds wife's role as 'homemaker'
Butker represents a segment of the population that wants to go backwards, particularly with women's rights. These people are getting bolder and more hateful.
The goal is to wrench power from a society that has become more pluralistic and diverse, and put it back into the hands of a small group of men. And I can tell you, in their universe, they aren't talking about men of color having all this power.
Butker gives the entire game away with this part of his speech.
"To the gentlemen here today, part of what plagues society is this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in the home or in our communities,' Butker said. "As men, we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in. This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation.
"Be unapologetic in your masculinity. Fight against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy."
There is no emasculation of men. It's not happening. It has never happened. It's a totally fabricated thing.
Again, none of this has to do with the loss of rights. No one is being emasculated. Men aren't losing power. Women don't need to stay in the kitchen. Unless they want to.
There are people like Butker who want to take America back in time. Not the majority. But enough.
And that's scary.
veryGood! (95)
Related
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Program that brought Ukrainians to North Dakota oil fields ends
- NHL trade grades: Champion Golden Knights ace deadline. Who else impressed? Who didn't?
- Read the Pentagon UFO report newly released by the Department of Defense
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- School shootings prompt more states to fund digital maps for first responders
- The Challenge’s Nelson Thomas Gets Right Foot Amputated After Near-Fatal Car Crash
- Virginia governor signs 64 bills into law, vetoes 8 others as legislative session winds down
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- ‘Oh my God feeling.’ Trooper testifies about shooting man with knife, worrying about other officers
Ranking
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- Program that allows 30,000 migrants from 4 countries into the US each month upheld by judge
- Students lobby to dethrone Connecticut’s state insect, the voraciously predatory praying mantis
- Deal Alert: Get 25% Off Celeb-Loved Kiehl’s Skincare Products in Their Exclusive Friends & Family Sale
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Roswell police have new patches that are out of this world, with flying saucers and alien faces
- Black applications soar at Colorado. Coach Prime Effect?
- Utah troopers stop 12-year-old driver with tire spikes and tactical maneuvers
Recommendation
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin Engaged: Inside Their Blissful Universe
Bracketology: Alabama tumbling down as other SEC schools rise in NCAA men's tournament field
Hawaii firefighters get control of fire at a biomass power plant on Kauai
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
What restaurants are open Easter 2024? McDonald's, Cracker Barrel, Red Lobster, more
Drake announced for Houston Bun B concert: See who else is performing at sold-out event
Worst NFL trade ever? Here's where Russell Wilson swap, other disastrous deals went wrong