Two female members of the family that owns the Kansas City Chiefs defended star kicker Harrison Butker after far-left activists circulated a petition calling for the team to “dismiss” the outspoken Catholic.
Last Saturday, Butker spoke at Benedictine College, a small Catholic institution in Kansas about an hour’s drive from where the Chiefs play. In the viral commencement speech, he called on graduates to “be authentically and unapologetically Catholic.”
Butker told female graduates: “[T]he majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
A petition calling on Butker’s team to “dismiss” him alleged that his speech was “sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion and racist.” The petition received over 190,000 signatures in four days. The NFL this past week issued a statement distancing itself from Butker.
However, Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, pushed back against the critics in a Thursday Instagram post.
“Affirming motherhood and praising your wife, as well as highlighting the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a mother, is not bigoted,” she wrote. “It is empowering to acknowledge that a woman’s hard work in raising children is not in vain.”
“I’ve always encouraged my daughters to be highly educated and chase their dreams,” Hunt added. “I want them to know that they can do whatever they want (that honors God).”
Kansas City Chiefs Owner Tavia Hunt Supports Harrison Butker: “Defending Motherhood is Not Bigoted”