Travis Kelce reacted to his Kansas City Chiefs’ teammate Harrison Butker’s viral comments. His brother, retired NFL pro Jason Kelce also had some thoughts about Butker’s commencement speech.
Earlier this month, NFL kicker Harrison Butker made headlines for his commencement speech at a graduation ceremony. The Kansas City Chiefs star addressed the female graduates, nothing that every woman in attendance would be more excited about becoming a wife and mother than having a successful career. He went on to claim that abortion is the “murder of innocent babies,” among other controversial quotes.
Butker even quoted Taylor Swift’s song “Bejeweled” from her Midnights album when discussing the relationship between a priest and his people. He noted, “This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time, because as my teammate’s girlfriend says, familiarity breeds contempt.” Swift might be dating Travis Kelce, but dating the boy on the football team is hardly her biggest achievement.
Butker’s speech was met with backlash, leading to the NFL reacting with an official statement (via CNN) noting that, “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.” More reactions ensued, including his famous teammates.
Travis Kelce didn’t agree with his teammate
In a new episode of their podcast New Heights, Travis and Jason Kelce addressed Butker’s controversial statements. The tight end noted that his teammate is a good person, adding that he values him as a teammate. “I’ve known him for seven or eight-plus years, and I cherish him as a teammate,” Travis started. “I think Pat [Mahomes] said it best: He is every bit of a great person and a great teammate. He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness, and that’s how he treats everyone.”
However, working together doesn’t mean they share the same views, and Travis made it clear his teammate doesn’t speak for him. “When it comes down to his views, and what he said at [Benedictine’s] commencement speech, those are his,” he continued. “I can’t say I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it, outside of him loving his family and his kids.” He continued, “I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life. It’s just not who I am.” Travis went on to note that both had different upbringings and social classes, which led to their different views.
“My mother and my father both provided for our family. And both my mother and my father made home what it was, so they were homemakers and were providers, and were unbelievable at being present every single day of my life.”
Jason Kelce doesn’t want Butker to tell his daughters what to do
Jason Kelce noted that he “aligned” himself with some parts of Butker’s speech and highlighted that the speech was given in a Catholic environment. The conversation started around the 23:40 mark, and the retired NFL star and father of three girls told his famous brother, “I would say, if my daughters listen to anybody tell them what to do, that they should be homemakers, then I’ve failed as a dad. I don’t care who’s talking to them,” Jason continued.
The former Eagles star explained, “If you let somebody up on a stage tell you that you can’t do that, and then you’re like, ‘Oh, f—, I guess I won’t go be a Fortune 500 CEO,’ like, you weren’t going to make it. If you don’t like what somebody says, all you’ve got to do is say, oh, that guy is a f—ing idiot, and then you move on.”
Travis and Jason Kelce noted how important the foundation of a family is while disagreeing respectfully. The rest of the world, however, was a little bit more aggressive letting Butker know his views are outdated.