A past commencement speech given by Harrison Butker is being re-examined in the wake of his controversial address at Benedictine College last weekend.
The Chiefs kicker’s address last year to graduates at the Georgia Institute of Technology — Butker’s alma mater — has resurfaced and drawn new criticism to the kicker, who spoke on a number of topics raging from political to gender issues during his May 11 speech this year.
His 2023 speech has drawn a new round of attention over multiple comments he made, including his thoughts on loneliness and a criticism of “identity politics.”
Among the remarks made during the address at Georgia Tech’s 2023 commencement, he expressed the belief that the loneliness in the world stemmed from “the lies being sold about self-dependence and prioritizing our career over important relationships.”
He also talked about how “entrenched in our respective groups” people have become before attacking cancel culture.
“Identity politics have caused us to look at one another through a prism of hate and lack of respect for the human person,” Butker added. “It seems the days of seeing the value of others may be gone, understanding that all people have innate value bestowed upon them by the creator. Gone are the days when a plurality of thought was accepted and encouraged.
“Instead, freedom of thought has been replaced by a culture built on cancellations for those who disagree.”
He claimed the “controversial antidote” to curing loneliness among young people was to “get married and start a family.”
Butker said from the dais that his accomplishments of being a Super Bowl champion didn’t mean anything “compared to the happiness I have found in my marriage and in starting a family.”
“My confidence as a husband and a father and yes, even as a football player, is rooted in my marriage with my wife as we leave our mark on future generations by the children we bring to the world. How much greater of a legacy can anyone leave than that?” Butker said.
Butker’s recent comments at Benedictine College have drawn a stark rebuke from the NFL and others — even being the apparent basis of a joke in the Chargers schedule release video — but he did find a defender in “The View” host Whoopi Goldberg.