Harrison Butker 2024 Commencement Speech Controversy
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Overview
The Harrison Butker 2024 Commencement Speech Controversy refers to a viral video and controversy concerning a college graduation commencement speech given by NFL kicker Harrison Butker, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, to the 2024 graduating class of Benedictine College. In his speech, Butker criticized U.S. President Joe Biden, the liberal media and told female students that they should focus on being wives and mothers instead of joining the workforce. Butker received backlash across social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter / X and Reddit for his remarks in May 2024. Outrage and memes centered on Taylor Swift fans (aka Swifties) reacting to Butker's statements, related to Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce, a fellow Kansas City Chiefs player. Simultaneously, some pundits on the political right championed Butker's speech.
Background
On May 11th, 2024, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker gave a 20-minute commencement speech for the 2024 graduating class of Benedictine College, a Catholic college in Atchison, Kansas.[1] The full speech was posted to the YouTube[2] channel of Benedictine College on May 11th, receiving over 186,800 views and 3,000 likes in four days (shown below).
To start his speech, Butker focused on many Catholic-related topics, telling the students to not be "silent" with their "counter-culture" faith. He later criticized LGBTQ+ peoples, attacking the celebration of Pride Month, calling it a "deadly sin sort of pride."
He also addressed the importance of "accepting your lane." Following this theme, he addressed the female students in the room, telling them that they had been told "the most diabolical lies," likening their pursuit of a career to a "lie" that they'd been told. On the topic, he shared an anecdote about his wife whose life "really started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother." Butker said much more, mostly related to upholding Catholic and conservative values.
Online Reaction
Videos and posts about Butker's 2024 commencement speech surfaced in the following days, originally within conservative and right-leaning internet circles that praised his speech. For instance, an early viral example was posted by X[3] user @greg_price11 on May 13th, 2024, who said, "Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rips Joe Biden and pro choice Catholics," gaining over 2.7 million views and 23,000 likes in two days (shown below, left).
Soon after on May 13th, negative reactions to Butker's speech surfaced online, evident in a quote shared by X[4] user @kodakandlag, who wrote, "Fuck you, Harrison Butker. Maybe you're a great kicker, but you're a horrible human being," gaining over 2,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).
![Harrison Butker Commencement Speech Praise 1:27 Greg Price @greg_price11 Subscribe Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rips Joe Biden and pro choice Catholics: "Our own nation is led by a man who proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the Sign of The Cross during a pro-abortion rally... Being Catholic alone does not cut it... We need to stop pretending that the church of nice is a winning proposition." h/t @_MLFootball IP • 3:20 PM May 13, 2024 2.7M Views BENEDICTINE COLLEGE](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/623/eb7.png)
![Harrison Butker Commencement Speech Backlash Goutham @kodakandlag F--- you, Harrison Butker. Maybe you're a great kicker, but you're a horrible human being. OK OutKick @Outkick May 13 Harrison Butker delivered a commencement address on Saturday that ripped Biden, took a shot at Pride Month, rebuked the mainstream media, and lifted up women as homemakers and men as present husbands. The Chiefs kicker's epic speech kicked butt!... Show more 6:56 PM - May 13, 2024 162.2K Views ...](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/624/eb9.png)
Viral negative reactions surfaced on TikTok too, such as a video posted by TikToker[5] @pottymouthpollyanna on May 14th, 2024, who criticized Butker's comments about women, highlighting the hypocrisy in his statements considering that his wife is married to a professional football player and that most women need to get jobs to survive. Her video gained over 4.5 million plays and 364,300 likes in a day (shown below).
@pottymouthpollyanna Must be nice to make 5 mil a year so your wife can do all the heavy lifting at home.
Less serious and more humorous reactions about Butker's speech surfaced during the same timeframe, such as a tweet shared by X[6] user @cararothenbergg who captioned a GIF of Dwight Schrute crying with, "Harrison Butker every time a woman learns how to read," earning over 16,000 likes in a day (shown below).
![Harrison Butker every time a woman learns how to read Cara R @cararothenbergg Harrison Butker every time a woman learns how to read II GIF ALT 9:34 PM May 14, 2024 370K Views peacoa](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/631/9e8.gif)
Various Reactions
![Harrison Butker when a woman has goals and dreams that don’t involve raising children and tending to her husband Megan McIntosh ♡ @_megaanmac Harrison Butker when a woman has goals and dreams that don't involve raising children and tending to her husband II GIF ALT Music Supervisors 7:26 PM - May 14, 2024 194.4K Views MANISH RAVAL TOM WOLFE](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/643/3a1.gif)
![F--- You Harrison Butker meme LINDA @eltravedor Hey, Harrison Butker... Royals_Jun CONFERENCE TONS & CBS NFL AFC CHAMPIONSHIP II GIF ALT KNOW YOUR ROLEX MAKING 4th SUPER BOWL APPEARANCE (FIRST SINCE 2017) 9:02 AM May 15, 2024 21.5K Views State Farm](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/653/7dd.gif)
![Harrison Butker Outrage / Backlash gabb Follow @BaseballGabb last harrison butker rant not everyone is a millionaire athlete. families need dual income to f------ survive. weirdo. 7:19 PM May 14, 2024 252K Views .](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/658/c85.png)
![Harrison Butker vs. Taylor Swift and Kelce meme 1989 kirstyn (taylor's v @kirstynrenee Follow I hope that Harrison Butker tries to tell Travis that Taylor emasculates him cause she works and isn't at home cooking and taking care of babies. And I hope Travis beats the s--- out of him. 1:27 PM May 14, 2024 223.6K Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/660/a01.png)
![Harrison Butker backlash Jess Piper @piper4missouri To those new to the absolute s--- takes of KC Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, let me remind you of his support for two lawyers who pointed guns at peaceful protestors. Butker is a forced-birther and takes cover behind religion. His words are often sexist, racist, and homophobic. Find mental health resources at HUNTSMAN Love Your MindToday.org BLOG BRIEFING ROOM Mark McCloskey @mccloskeyusa It was great to meet you @buttkicker7! Thanks for the support! You keep crushing it on the field and I'll handle things in the Senate Kansas City Chiefs kicker blasts Biden, pro-choice movement in commencement speech BY MIRANDA NAZZARO 05/13/24 10:41 PM ET #MOSen 8:06 AM May 14, 2024 from Missouri, USA • 307K Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/817/668/b2f.png)
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