Harrison Butker (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker continues to face immense public backlash for his comments in a commencement speech at a Kansas college last week, but the controversy hasn’t negatively affected his jersey sales whatsoever.
Last Saturday, Harrison Butker gave a commencement speech to students at Benedictine College, a liberal arts college based in Atchison, Kansas. During the speech, Butker made antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and misogynistic comments.
In one part of the speech, Butker advised the female graduates to be “homemakers”. He brought up his wife, Isabelle, during the topic and mentioned that he’s the man he is since she “leans into her vocation.”
Despite the criticism and backlash around Butker’s comments, his Fanatics jersey is currently among the “most popular” NFL jerseys, as noted by the @uSTADIUM X/Twitter account:
There’s an online petition at Petition.org for the Chiefs to “dismiss” Harrison Butker over the controversial comments. As of 6:45 p.m EST on Thursday, more than 147,000 people have signed the petition.
Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, told People in a statement that Butker’s “views are not those of the NFL as an organization”, adding that the league remains committed to “inclusion.”
The Kansas City Chiefs organization has yet to address Butker’s comments publicly. The 28-year-old is entering the final season of a five-year contract extension worth $20.275 million he signed back in the 2019 offseason.
Harrison Butker Creates Unnecessary Distraction For Chiefs
Regardless of how one feels about Harrison Butker’s comments and opinions, the fact is that the three-time Super Bowl champion has caused an entirely unnecessary distraction for the defending champions.
The Chiefs are coming off a second straight Super Bowl championship and are aiming to complete the first three-peat in NFL history. They’re already waiting for Rashee Rice’s legal matters to play out, and now Andy Reid and company will soon have to answer for Butker’s comments that have affected countless people.
The sooner the Chiefs finally break their silence on Butker’s comments, the better.
