Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he doesn’t agree with the “majority” of Harrison Butker’s recent controversial comments but noted that he will not judge his teammate for it.
Butker caused a stir during his 20-minute commencement address on May 11 at Benedictine College, which is a Catholic school in Atchison, Kan. He addressed the female graduates in attendance and spoke against the “diabolical lies” society places on women who emphasize their careers over motherhood.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on Wednesday that he did not “necessarily agree with” Butker’s comments but noted he was going to “judge him by the character he shows every single day.”
Kelce had a similar take on the matter while speaking Friday on his “New Heights” podcast.
“He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness,” Kelce said of Butker. “And that’s how he treats everyone. When it comes down to his views and what he said (in his) commencement speech, those are his.
“I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids. And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am.”
Kelce did not address the part of Butker’s speech in which the kicker quoted a Taylor Swift lyric.
Butker said, “As my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘familiarity breeds contempt'” — which references Swift’s song “Bejeweled.”
