11 days later, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has finally broken his silence on the controversy surrounding kicker and teammate Harrison Butker.
Many were surprised and disappointed by the lengthy silence of Patrick Mahomes, head coach Andy Reid and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs organization over Butker’s controversial speech to a graduating class at Benedictine College (in Atchison, Kansas) on May 10.
Speaking to graduating students, Butker made homophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic and sexist comments. In his speech, Butker advised the graduating female students to become “homemakers.”
Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday that Butker is “a good person”, though he does disagree with some of the things that were said in the commencement speech, per TMZ:
“I know Harrison. I’ve known Harrison for seven years. I judge him by the character that he shows every single day and that’s a good person…There’s certain things that he said I don’t necessarily agree with but I understand the person that he is. He’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction. Might not be the same values I have but at the same time, I’m going to judge him by the character that he shows every single day and that’s a great person.”
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A petition at Change.org calls for the Chiefs to release Butker. It currently has 223,000 signatures and aims to reach 300,000.
Based on the comments made by Patrick Mahomes and coach Reid, Butker’s job as Kansas City’s kicker is safe. The soon-to-be 29-year-old has spent his entire career with the Chiefs, which began in 2017.
The Georgia Tech product has won three Super Bowls with Kansas City, making game-winning field goals late in the 2022 AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl 57 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
Kansas City will open its 2024 season with a home tilt against the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Kickoff Game on Sept. 5.
Patrick Mahomes Stays Clear Of Further Controversy
Fans and followers of Mahomes know that he generally prefers not to discuss sensitive topics (unlike Aaron Rodgers, for example). The two-time league MVP surely knew that he would eventually have to address the comments, given the silence from Butker and the rest of the organization.
Mahomes made it clear that he disagreed with some of Butker’s comments, but he also defended his teammate and was careful not to add any more fuel to the fire.
