Harrison Butker, the Kansas City Chiefs kicker, delivered a contentious speech at Benedictine College that is still being criticized.
Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam, made a powerful statement regarding Butker’s graduation address to a packed house at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday.
“While I have your attention,” Vedder starts, “Can we please raise our voices, clap our hands, and show our appreciation for the first group to be on the stage tonight, Deep Sea Diver?
“That’s some good men and good women making up a great band. The singer, Jessica, and the keyboard player, Patti, they must not have believed that ‘diabolical lie’ that women should take pride in taking a back seat to their man.”
“I get that could be for some people, and there should be pride in homemaking whether you’re a man or a woman. It’s definitely one of the hardest jobs, and you should definitely take pride in it,” he said. “But you shouldn’t not follow a dream because you think that you’re going to benefit by giving up your dreams? I couldn’t understand the logic. So I’m questioning it in public right now.”
“The irony was that this football player … was telling men, don’t forget to puff up your chest and be more masculine. Don’t lose your masculinity,” Vedder said. “The irony is that when he was saying that, he looked like such a pu–y.”
“There’s nothing more masculine than a strong man supporting a strong woman,” he then said to cheers from the crowd.
“People of quality do not fear equality,” he added.
The NFL has already distanced itself from the three-time Super Bowl champion’s comments. “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told People. “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
Butker attacked COVID-19 lockdowns, Pride Month, abortion rights, and “the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion” in his address. Men should “fight against the cultural emasculation of men,” he added.
Additionally, he advised the female graduates to be “most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world” and that being a “homemaker” would be the “most important” career they could have.
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Also Read: NFL Fans Were Using The Same Joke To Perfectly Roast Harrison Butker For His Comments About Women
Butker has faced some blowback for his speech, but he has not come out and apologized for anything he has said, which leads you to believe that he truly meant it and that the backlash does not bother him in the least bit.
White House Press Secretary Questioned On Whether Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Will Be Banned From White House Over Speech
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will still be welcomed to the White House despite his recent remarks regarding President Joe Biden.
He questioned Biden’s Catholic faith and chastised him for his support of abortion during the speech. In addition, he denounced “dangerous gender ideologies” and warned female graduates that most of them would be more eager to have children than pursue prosperous careers.
One reporter wondered if Butker would still be welcome.
“So, what I can say is all of the team – per usual when there is a championship – gets invited,” Jean-Pierre said. “I don’t have anything to add on their attendance or how that looks, but the team is always invited. Everyone on the team is invited. I just don’t have anything beyond that.”
