Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has broken his silence on Serena Williams’ savage roast of him during the 2024 ESPYs ceremony on Thursday night.
Two months ago, Harrison Butker made headlines during his commencement speech to students at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. During the speech, Butker made homophobic, misogynistic, antisemitic and sexist comments.
In one portion of the speech, the veteran kicker advised the graduating female students to become “homemakers.”
During the ESPYs, tennis legend Venus Williams advised fans to “enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports.” Her younger sister, Serena, then destroyed the Kansas City kicker.
“Except you, Harrison Butker,” Williams said. “We don’t need you.”
According to Minyvonne Burke of NBC News, Harrison Butker responded to Williams’ roast in a statement to the outlet. Though he praised her for being “a great host” at the ESPYs, Butker expressed disappointment in her comment:
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“I thought Mrs. Williams was a great host and applaud her for using her platform to express her beliefs on a variety of topics.
“Sports are supposed to be the great unifier and at an event dedicated to celebrating a diverse group of men and women who have accomplished great feats, she used it as an opportunity to disinvite those with whom she disagrees with from supporting fellow athletes.”
Harrison Butker was a seventh-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2017, but he never played a game for them. He has spent his entire career with Kansas City, helping them to six straight AFC title games, four Super Bowl appearances and three Lombardi Trophies.
Butker kicked game-winning fields goals in the 2022 AFC Championship Game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals and against the Philadelphia Eagles in the waning seconds of Super Bowl 57.
The Chiefs will open their 2024 season against the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Kickoff Game on Sept. 5.
Chiefs Are Standing By Harrison Butker
There were some calls from fans for the Chiefs to move on from the three-time Super Bowl-winning kicker after his comments went viral. An online petition at Change.org reached over 230,000 signatures.
But teammate and quarterback Patrick Mahomes stated that though he disagreed with some of Butker’s commencement speech comments, stating the 28-year-old kicker is “a good person.”
Head coach Andy Reid also decided to stay neutral when asked about Butker’s comments, citing the importance of freedom in speech and opinion.
