Greg Evans
May 18, 2024
Fox - LA / VideoElephant
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has appeared to 'set the record straight' over his controversial comments about women during a Benedictine College commencement speech - or did he?
The 28-year-old has come under intense scrutiny this week for a speech where he claimed that women had been sold "diabolical lies" and said they would feel much more satisfied once they became wives and mothers.
The address began with Butker saying, "It is safe to say that over the years, I have gained quite the reputation for speaking my mind."
He added that he believed "bad policies and poor leadership" had "negatively impacted major life issues."
"Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerative cultural values in media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder."
Butker also quoted his teammate Travis Kelce's partner, Taylor Swift and her song 'Bejeweled' with the line "familiarity breeds contempt" which incurred the wrath of her very loyal fans.
Now a quote seemingly from Butker attempting to clarify his words has gone viral across several platforms after being shared by numerous 'meme' accounts.
The post titled 'Harrison Butker on setting the record straight,' shows a picture of Butker and the following quote: "Everyone is taking what I said out of context. All I said is that we should go back to a better time, like the 50s and 60s. When men were men, and women had more babies than thoughts. When the only 'Me too' movement was one woman saying she was ready for her 4th child, and another woman agreeing."
Several of the posts across X/Twitter, Instagram and TikTok have racked up millions of views however according to fact checkers Snopes, the quote has been found to be nothing but a lie and a piece of satire.
Amidst the fallout from Butker's comments Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer said in a statement to People magazine: "Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. 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."
The backlash towards Butker has seen the Chiefs' NFL rivals the LA Chargers mock him in a Sims-inspired schedule release video while others have uncovered the fact that his mother is an accomplished physicist.
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