Harrison Butker has two more people coming to his defense — and they’re associated with the Kansas City Chiefs this time.
As you know, the football player has been under first for his commencement speech at Benedictine College during which he said a “majority” of the graduating women would be “most excited about” their real accomplishment of getting married and having kids instead of starting their careers. He also railed against abortion, IVF, surrogacy, the LGBTQ+ community, and more. It was a 20-minute speech filled with bigoted and misogynistic comments that sparked a wave of criticism. Tens of thousands even signed a petition demanding to have Harrison kicked off the Chiefs.
Related: Patrick Mahomes Already KNEW Harrison Butker Sucks! Once Said He Never Talks To Kicker!
While the public slammed the athlete, his teammates noticeably have remained silent on the controversy. However, Harrison has found two supporters from the team despite his sexist and homophobic speech — Tavia Hunt, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, and their daughter Gracie.
The 25-year-old heiress appeared on Fox & Friends Friday morning, saying she “for sure” understood what the kicker meant when he declared a woman’s “most important title” should be “homemaker.” Ugh. She added:
“Well, I can only speak from my own experience, which is I’ve had the most incredible mom who had the ability to stay home and be with us as kids growing up, and I understand that there are many women out there who can’t make that decision. But for me and my life, I know it was really formative and in shaping me and my siblings into who we are.”
Gracie then noted she respects “Harrison and his Christian faith and what he’s accomplished on and off the field.” Watch (below):
“I really respect Harrison and his Christian faith.” @gracelynhunt, daughter of Kansas City Chiefs CEO, speaks out on @foxandfriends in support of Harrison Butker following backlash for his commencement speech. https://t.co/CUuQknnazZ pic.twitter.com/Il7VVFAIVd
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2024
Tavia echoed her daughter’s sentiments in a post on Instagram Friday. Alongside pictures of her and her children, she wrote:
“I’ve always encouraged my daughters to be highly educated and chase their dreams. I want them to know that they can do whatever they want (that honors God). But I also want them to know that I believe finding a spouse who loves and honors you as or before himself and raising a family together is one of the greatest blessings this world has to offer. Studies show that committed, married couples with children are the happiest demographic, and this has been my experience as well.”
Tavia continued:
“*Affirming motherhood and praising your wife, as well as highlighting the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a mother, is not bigoted. It is empowering to acknowledge that a woman’s hard work in raising children is not in vain.* Countless highly educated women devote their lives to nurturing and guiding their children. Someone disagreeing with you doesn’t make them hateful; it simply means they have a different opinion. Let’s celebrate families, motherhood and fatherhood. Our society desperately needs dedicated men and women to raise up and train the next generation in the way they should go. *I also caution against taking things out of context. Sound bites overlaid with hateful comments are not what we want to model for our children or others. We need more dialogue (and VALUES, IMO) in this country and less hate.*”
Seriously… What the f**k.
We urge Gracie and Tavia to watch NBC Sports Boston anchor Trenni Casey full commentary about now no one should be defending any part of Harrion’s disgusting speech. She said it best:
“There is a big difference between opinion and dehumanizing hateful speech. … I am so tired of people telling us at the center of these dehumanizing rants that we need to respect everyone’s opinion. No. We don’t, and we don’t have to tolerate it, either. You are not allowed to go out of your way and belittle, degrade and depict groups that don’t look like you as subhuman. That’s not an opinion. That is hate. Plain and simple.”
Say it louder for Gracie and Tavia to hear! Or even just take a look at the TikTok video from college student Susannah Leisegang, who said her own graduation felt “a little less special” by Harrison’s demeaning and hateful words. Gracie and Tavia clearly missed the entire point about why everyone is enraged at him right now. Reactions to their defense of Harrison, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below.
[Image via Tavia Hunt/Instagram, Benedictine College/YouTube]
