Kansas City Chiefs Harrison Butker doubles down on commencement speech

Never say Kansas City Chiefs kicked Harrison Butker isn't committed to his words. Months after making his controversial commencement speech in which he made some alarming comments about women and the LGBTQ+ community, Butker seems to have doubled down on the speech and the comments made during them. 

"I've appreciated all the feedback. I know, when it comes to football, I don't look at the comments as good or bad towards me, but with it being the off-season and stating a lot of these things, I was inquisitive as to what people would be saying back to me," Butker shared. "I respected all the viewpoints, but in terms of what I said, you know, I prayed about it, and I thought about it, and I was very intentional with what I said, and I stand behind what I said." 

Butker said in his portion of open media at the Kansas City Chiefs' training camp. 

While no one expected Butker to flip a switch and change his deeply held values and beliefs, a little reflection and perhaps a more open minded response would have been more appropriate. Butker of course made headlines when he addressed "the women" graduates directly in an attempt to counter the "most diabolical lies" they have been told. More than professional achievements, he said they should be excited to take on the "vocation" of homemaker, using his own wife, Isabelle Butker, as an example. On top of multiple other controversial and potentially harmful rhetoric. 

Kansas City recently made Butker the highest paid kicker in the league, so it seems that words sometimes in fact do not have consequences. Time will tell how this all plays out for the embattled kicker and the defending Super Bowl champions.