Wife of NFL owner speaks up following Harrison Butker’s controversial speech

Harrison Butker currently has the top-selling jersey on the Kansas City Chiefs following the controversial statements he made during a recent commencement speech at Benedictine College. As of Friday afternoon, sales of the veteran kicker’s jersey are even outpacing those of teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, according to the official NFL Shop.

Listed among the “Top Sellers” on the official website, Butker’s No. 7 jersey has gotten quite a bump after the kicker’s polarizing remarks. CBS Sports has reached out to the NFL about the specific sales numbers.

The portion of Butker’s commencement speech that got the most backlash were the comments he made about women being sold “diabolical lies” regarding their professional careers.

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you,” Butker said. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

The wide-ranging speech covered a number of other hot-button topics as well, including what Butker referred to as “dangerous gender ideologies,” COVID-19 and abortion.

“The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues,” Butker said. “Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder.”

Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, issued a statement to CBS News about Butker’s speech. “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Beane said. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.” 

GLAAD also issued a statement, and said Butker’s speech “a clear miss” and “woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women,” alluding to Butker’s suggestion that Pride Month, which is June, celebrates a “deadly sin.”

While Butker got criticized for the speech, he also received support from Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. In a post on Instagram, Tavia Hunt backed up Butker’s view on motherhood. “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.