LGBTQ Advocate Organization Slams Harrison Butker For 'Inaccurate' Speech
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GLAAD, the largest advocacy organization for the LGBTQ community, is addressing the controversial speech delivered by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
Not only did the NFL player voice what he believes women should do for their future, but he called the LGBTQ pride a "deadly sin."
Harrison Butker Mentions LGBTQ Community In Graduation Speech
Harrison Butker certainly made a name for himself after delivering a controversial speech at Benedictine College, expressing his thoughts on gender roles, COVID-19, and the LGBTQ community.
"I am certain the reporters at the AP could not have imagined that their attempt to rebuke and embarrass places and people like those here at Benedictine wouldn't be met with anger, but instead met with excitement and pride," he said during his speech. "Not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him."
After receiving backlash for his comments, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization is speaking out.
GLAAD Responds To Harrison Butker's Speech
GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued the following statement:
“Traditionally, commencement speeches are meant to celebrate and inspire graduates and their families. Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker’s commencement speech was not only a clear miss, it was inaccurate, ill-informed, and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women.
Those with expansive platforms, especially athletes, should use their voices to uplift and expand understanding and acceptance in the world. Instead, Butker’s remarks undermine experiences not of his own and reveal him to be one who goes against his own team’s commitment to the Kansas City community, and the NFL’s standards for respect, inclusion, and diversity across the League.”
According to GLAAD, Butker also "reinforced toxic stereotypes about men, power and control" when he stated: "As men, we set the tone of the culture, and when that is absent, disorder, dysfunction and chaos set in. This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation. Be unapologetic in your masculinity. Fight against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy.”
This statement comes after the NFL commented on how its views differ from Butker's.
NFL Comments On Harrison Butker's Controversial Speech
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told PEOPLE Magazine. “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.”
For years, the NFL has proudly advocated for inclusivity for LGBTQ+ fans and employees. Not only does it offer rainbow-themed NFL Pride merchandise, but the organization consistently partners with GLAAD to host Pride celebrations at the Super Bowl.
Harrison Butker Addresses The Class Of 2024
In addition to telling the women that they should be "homemakers" and that the gentlemen should "set the tone of the culture," Butker told the class of 2024 that it "is essential that we focus on our own state in life, whether that be as a layperson, a priest, or religious."
"Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2024, you are sitting at the edge of the rest of your lives," the NFL player added. "Each of you has the potential to leave a legacy that transcends yourselves and this era of human existence. In the small ways, by living out your vocation, you will ensure that God's Church continues and the world is enlightened by your example."
Harrison Butker Says To Fight 'Against The Cultural Emasculation Of Men'
Harrison Butker went on to tell the gentlemen in the audience to "be unapologetic in your masculinity" and to fight "against the cultural emasculation of men."
"You might have a talent that you don't necessarily enjoy, but if it glorifies God, maybe you should lean into that over something that you might think suits you better," he added. "I speak from experience as an introvert who now finds myself as an amateur public speaker and an entrepreneur, something I never thought I'd be when I received my industrial engineering degree."
Listen to Harrison Butker's full speech here.
