Chiefs' Harrison Butker will 'stand behind what it is I'm saying' - ESPN

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Harrison Butker calls himself an introvert who believes in guarding his privacy. But when Benedictine College, a small Catholic school in rural Kansas, asked him to deliver a commencement speech last spring, he said he felt compelled to do it, and on his terms.

«I've been in the league now seven years and I do have a platform,'' said Butker, the long-time kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. „So with that comes people that want me to state what I believe to be very important.“

Butker gave a speech on May 11 that he said took months to prepare. His comments were considered homophobic and sexist. Among other things, Butker criticized Pride Month and said being a homemaker was more valuable for a woman than anything that could be achieved in the workplace.

Butker didn't back down from his comments Wednesday.

»I'm going to stand behind what it is I'm saying,'' Butker said. «I kind of look at the offseason as a little bit of a maybe five-month period where I can just represent me as Harrison Butker as a faithful Catholic. And then obviously when it gets to the season, I try to focus as much as I can on football and not being a distraction for the Chiefs.»

Butker's comments didn't go unnoticed by those in the Chiefs' locker room. He said he's had deep conversations with many of his teammates since, with both sides emerging with a better understanding of the other.

«It's been a beautiful thing to see,'' Butker said. „That's what's so special about sports and so special about football. There aren't many sports where you have 50 to 100 guys with a bunch of different beliefs and we're all fighting together to win. So you have a bunch of different personalities, a bunch of different backgrounds, and we're all there