Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker doubled down on his controversial remarks given during a college commencement where he spoke about working women, the LGBTQ community, and abortion.
Butker gave his remarks on Friday during a “Courage Under Fire” gala in Nashville, which was hosted by a Catholic homeschooling organization Regina Caeli Academic where Butker serves as a board member.
The professional athlete defended his commencement speech at Benedictine College earlier this month, where he called LGBTQ+ pride a “deadly sin,” condemned abortion, and encouraged female graduates to “embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”
His comments led to the creation of a Change.org petition to have fired from the Chiefs and spurred popular stars and current teammates to condemn Butker.
Butker defended his Catholic faith in his Friday speech and discussed Saint Daniel, who in the Bible was thrown into a lion’s den over his faith in God.
Over the past few days, my beliefs or what people think, I believe, have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe. At
the outset, many people expressed a shocking level of hate. But as the days went on, even those who disagreed with my viewpoints shared their support for my freedom of religion. In my seven years in the NFL. I’ve become familiar with the positive and negative comments, but the majority of them revolve around my performance on the field. But as to be expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most, which is my Catholic faith, the more polarizing I have become. It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all. If we have truth and charity, we should trust in the Lord’s providence and let the Holy Ghost do the rest of the work.Our love for Jesus, and thus our desire to speak out should never be outweighed by the longing of our fallen nature to be loved by the world. Glorifying God and not ourselves should always remain our motivation despite any pushback or even support. I lean on those closest to me for guidance, but I can never forget that it is not people, but Jesus Christ who I am trying to please. Oh. I’m humbled by the support I’ve received from all walks of life, but I can’t help but tremble at the thought of the courage many saints have shown in their lives. Would I be so bold if the repercussionwas what Daniel faced in being fed to lions? In reality, any courage I’ve shown will lead to some small suffering, and it will lead to some people maybe never liking me. But that could be God’s will.If I constantly remind myself of the hardships the saints went through, especially the martyrs and their persecution, it makes it all seem not so bad. For if heaven is our goal, we should embrace our cross. However large or small it may be, and live our life with joy. To be a bold witness for Christ. My hope is that tonight’s theme and RCA’s mission, will embolden others, that many more will be unapologetic of their Catholic faith and never be afraid to speak out for truth, even when it goes against the loudest voices. In the end, being courageous starts with the small things. Being disliked and mischaracterized by some is nothing compared to finding yourself in a lion’s den.
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