Harrison Butker awkwardly avoids answering question about what he ‘thinks of gays’
Harrison Butker #7 of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks to media during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium (Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs star Harrison Butker, who, in the past, described LGBTQ+ Pride as “sinful”, went quiet when asked what he “thinks of gays”, during a media event in the lead up to this weekend’s Super Bowl.
The NFL kicker, who plays for the same team as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, was slammed last May after he made a controversial commencement address at Catholic Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kansas, where he called Pride Month “sinful”, said Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies on to the youth of America”, attacked abortion rights and told female graduates they would be happier as wives and mothers.
Answering questions on Monday night (3 February), ahead of Sunday’s showdown between the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, Butker was asked what he thought about gays.
“I understand this is a great evening and we’re here to focus on the game,” he replied. “Maybe if I saw [the person who asked the question] without a camera, we’d have a great conversation.”
Butker was less shy during his commencement address, when he said: “I am certain the reporters could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine, wouldn’t be met with anger but instead met with excitement and pride – not the deadly sin of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered Pride that is co-operating with the Holy Ghost.”
His views led him to be awarded the title of Outsports’ A**hole Of The Year 2024, “for his anti-gay, anti-women speech, and doubling down on it throughout the year”.
Commenting this week on the reaction to his speech, he said: “It was a surprise because I’d been saying similar things to that for many years and it’s funny what stuff gets picked up. I said what I said. I believe in it.
“I don’t feel the need to apologise for anything. I feel God’s prepared me for that moment to feel confident in who I am and what’s most important in my life and I’m able to handle whatever comes my way.”
The Chiefs are vying to become the first team in history to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.
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