Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker criticized President Joe Biden while giving a commencement speech at Benedictine College on Saturday.
Butker, an outspoken and devout Catholic, slammed Biden on his positions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as well as cultural issues such as abortion and radical gender ideology. While addressing graduates at the Catholic liberal arts college in Atchinson, Kansas, the NFL kicker blamed Biden for what the Super Bowl champion believed was a deterioration of societal values. He began his speech by addressing the adversity this year’s graduates faced, given they were high school seniors four years ago during the COVID pandemic.
“By making it to this moment through all the adversity thrown your way from COVID, I hope you learned the important lesson that suffering in this life is only temporary,” Butker said. “As a group, you witnessed firsthand how bad leaders who don’t stay in their lane can have a negative impact on society.”
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“While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique,” said Butker. “Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media, all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.”
“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and 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,” Butker said. “He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people, it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.”
“He is not alone,” Butker affirmed. “From the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common. They are Catholic. This is an important reminder that being Catholic alone doesn’t cut it.”
“These are the sorts of things we are told in polite society to not bring up – you know, the difficult and unpleasant things,” Butker said. “But if we are going to be men and women for this time in history, we need to stop pretending that the church of nice is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act in charity, but never mistake charity for cowardice.”
Butker is well-known for his Catholic beliefs and pro-life sentiments. This was not the first time he took a public stance to support protecting the lives of the unborn.
When the Kansas City Chiefs visited the White House after winning the Super Bowl the last two years, he wore a specially made tie with his suit to “represent the unborn.” His gray tie had the Latin phrase “Vulnerari Praesidio” printed on it, which means “protect the most vulnerable.”
