Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said he supports kicker Harrison Butker for creating a PAC with a Republican senator to promote Christian values.
“One of the things I talk to the players every year about at training camp is using their platform to make a difference,” Hunt said on Wednesday. “We have players on both sides of the political spectrum, both sides of whatever controversial issue you want to bring up. I’m not at all concerned when our players use their platform to make a difference.”
Hunt, 59, gave his support to the kicker after months of controversy and backlash against Butker for his conservative beliefs.
Butker announced his UPRIGHT PAC last weekend along with Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who earned the kicker’s endorsement ahead of the general election against Democrat Lucas Kunce. Butker has also endorsed former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election, citing Trump’s pro-life stance.
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Prior to that, Butker ignited the controversy over his beliefs when he gave a commencement speech at his alma mater Benedictine College in May. The speech went viral as Butker suggested the woman graduates should be more excited about getting married and having children than embarking on careers. At the private Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, Butker also suggested that some Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.”
“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 that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” Butker said at the time.
Shortly after the speech, Butker’s jersey sales soared. His jersey was the 11th-most purchased in the NFL from March 1 to May 31, the NFLPA said, indicating many fans of the Chiefs and NFL as a whole were willing to spend money to embrace Butker and his beliefs.
However, Butker’s speech also incited fierce and oftentimes emotional backlash from many in the mainstream media. Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins mocked Butker for being a kicker after delivering the remarks, while NBC’s “Today” host Hoda Kotb scolded the kicker, telling him “not to speak for women.”
The criticisms against Butker were also amplified within the Chiefs’ own fan base due to the influx of new fans that began following the team after Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift.
Butker was the subject of a social media mockery campaign by Swift fans, who generated a series of memes and vitriolic insults against the kicker and his followers. This campaign was documented in a Kansas City Star story that exposed Swift fans for calling Butker “the smallest man who ever lived,” in reference to one of Swift’s songs, among other nicknames.
HARRISON BUTKER’S FAITH-DRIVEN COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT BENEDICTINE COLLEGE: READ THE SPEECH HERE
The Chiefs’ owner previously credited Swift for bringing an influx of new fans to the team after the 2023 regular season. During a CNBC interview in January, Hunt said the team’s following, especially women, grew by “leaps and bounds” amid Swift’s relationship with Kelce.
Many of those same fans who Swift brought in share the pop star’s political values, which has manifested in aggression toward Butker and other individuals close to the team with conservative values.
Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Sept. 10 and has endorsed Democratic candidates dating back to 2018, when she endorsed Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections in Tennessee.
Those beliefs have not stopped Swift herself from cheering on Butker, as she was seen visibly celebrating his game-winning field goal when the Chiefs.
However, her fans have still gone after the kicker on multiple occasions on social media over the course of the year. Butker is not the only victim of this aggression either.
When quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany Mahomes liked an Instagram post from former President Donald Trump’s account on Aug. 13 which laid out the former president’s 2024 policy agenda, Swift fans found out quickly. Multiple online Swift fan pages contributed to spreading screenshots of Mahomes’ initial like of Trump’s policy platform, inciting backlash against Mahomes. Mahomes has had to address this backlash in other social media posts multiple times since then.
Swift’s endorsement of Harris prompted a vocal response from former President Trump, who Mahomes has been tied to supporting. Trump posted a message to his Truth Social platform that read “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” on Sept. 15, and in an interview with “FOX & Friends” on Sept. 11, the former president said he “liked Mahomes much better” than Swift.
Patrick Mahomes even had to answer for these exchanges during a press conference on Sept. 11, when he said he commended his wife’s influence but also said he would not endorse a candidate in the upcoming election.
Despite showing recent support for Butker, Hunt may be politically opposed to his kicker, based on his donation history.
The Hunt family has supported a group urging Missouri voters to reject a ballot measure that would overturn a near-total ban on abortion in the state through Unity Hunt, the company that oversees the assets of the Lamar Hunt family. The Chiefs have declined to comment on the $300,000 donation other than confirming to The Kansas City Star that the money was wired by Clark Hunt’s half-brother, Lamar Hunt Jr., through his account with Unity Hunt.
Meanwhile, the NFL has distanced itself from Butker’s comments altogether, issuing a statement shortly after his initial speech.
“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,” the statement read.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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