NFL Kicker Criticized for Supporting Christianity

The new rule in the NFL is that if you kneel for the national anthem and a national controversy then engulfs you, you get a million-dollar contract from Nike. Then, the NFL definitely attempts for years on end to get you back into the league, despite the fact that you stink so much that you’re benched for the immortal Blaine Gabbert.

That, of course, is the story of Colin Kaepernick, who became even richer and more famous than he was after going to the Super Bowl because he knelt for the national anthem.

Despite all of the attempts to paint Kaepernick as a victim, precisely the opposite is true. Kaepernick was touted as a hero by large swathes of the mainstream media. He was put on the cover of magazines because he was kneeling for the national anthem, supposedly because black Americans like Kaepernick — who, by the way, was raised in a white household that adopted him — were victims of a white supremacist system.

Fast forward a few years. The hot controversy of the day in the NFL is a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs named Harrison Butker.

There are now calls for him to be removed from the Chiefs roster for the upcoming NFL season from some radical Left fans and their allies. Why?

Because he is Catholic, and he gave a 20-minute commencement speech at Benedictine College, which is Catholic, in which he talked about Catholicism.

That’s all this is.

What he said was very traditional in terms of men, women, and Catholic theology. This, apparently, is absolutely outrageous. What did he do that was so wildly offensive that people now know his name, when, as a kicker, nobody knew his name five seconds ago?

It’s not like Kaepernick, who was already well-known for having taken his team to the Super Bowl years before he knelt. Unless you’re a big fan of football, you really had no idea who Harrison Butker was until five minutes ago.

But now he’s become a national name because the media have decided he is the root of all evil. Why? Because he’s saying what Catholics have been saying for 2,000 years. And he said it at a Catholic college.

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So let’s examine what Harrison Butker said and the controversy, which is indicative of the real social issues gap between Left and Right that is undergirding so much of our ugly politics these days. You have a Left that has embraced transgenderism as an absolute virtue and a Right that is saying men and women exist and are different.

What Butker said is believed and agreed with by a huge swathe of Americans, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. In his commencement address, he stated:

It is only in the past few years that I have grown encouraged to speak more boldly and directly because, as I mentioned earlier, I have leaned into my vocation as a husband and father, and as a man.

To the gentlemen here today: Part of what plagues our society is this lie that has been told to you that men are not necessary in the home or in our communities. 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. Other countries do not have nearly the same absentee father rates as we find here in the U.S., and a correlation could be made in their drastically lower violence rates, as well.

Be unapologetic in your masculinity, fighting against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy. 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.

These views used to be wildly uncontroversial. But now, if you suggest that men have something special to present to the world, that is considered controversial. What he said was contrasted with his statements about the role of females in society at large and what brings female happiness. It was very traditional, and I agree with it:

I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? 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. I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.

Why in the world is that controversial? Why? He’s not saying, “Don’t have a career.” He’s saying the most important thing you will do in your life is be a wife and be a mom.

It was this particular statement to women that led to a thousand think pieces about how terrible all of this was. How dare he suggest that perhaps women find fulfillment in being married and having children?

It’s a lie that women can forego being a wife and mother and find the same levels of happiness on a general level. It may not be true for every individual, but on a general level, it’s true. The parallel lie these people envision for men is that they should forego the great joy in life of being a father, a husband, a protector, and a provider.

Those lies have led to the dissolution of society.

Here are your choices: Choice #1: Harrison Butker, who speaks movingly about meeting his wife, marrying her, and having children with her. Choice #2: NFL players who are impregnating women and abandoning their children.

The NFL has nothing to say about that. Nothing. The NFL is completely silent about players like Antonio Cromartie, who seems to have fathered half the country at this point. There’s no comment about him.

But if Harrison Butker speaks of his perspective, the NFL condemns him. They put out a statement saying, “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. 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.”

Have they ever issued a statement like this before?

The other issue Butker discussed was the sin of pride — that if you’re proud of things that Catholicism considers sinful, that is not good. He stated:

Because there seems to be so much confusion coming from our leaders, there needs to be concrete examples for people to look to in places like Benedictine, a little Kansas college built high on a bluff above the Missouri River, are showing the world how an ordered, Christ-centered existence is the recipe for success. You need to look no further than the examples all around this campus, where over the past 20 years, enrollment has doubled, construction and revitalization are a constant part of life, and people, the students, the faculty and staff, are thriving.

This didn’t happen by chance. In a deliberate movement to embrace traditional Catholic values, Benedictine has gone from just another liberal arts school with nothing to set it apart to a thriving beacon of light and a reminder to us all that when you embrace tradition, success — worldly and spiritual — will follow.

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. 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. Reading that article now shared all over the world, we see that in the complete surrender of self and a turning towards Christ, you will find happiness. Right here in a little town in Kansas, we find many inspiring laypeople using their talents.

That, of course, was offensive to the social Left.

Butker also had the temerity to point out that top-level politicians in the United States, including the president of the United States, call themselves Catholic while constantly contravening Catholic doctrine.

He stated:

Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the Sign of the Cross during a pro- abortion rally. He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.

He is not alone. From the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common. They are Catholic. This is an important reminder that being Catholic alone doesn’t cut it. These are the sorts of things we are told in polite society to not bring up. You know, the difficult and unpleasant things. But if we are going to be men and women for this time in history, we need to stop pretending that the “Church of Nice” is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act in charity, but never mistake charity for cowardice.

One hundred percent correct.

Further, Colin Kaepernick hijacked a TV broadcast of the NFL in order to politically protest the American flag. He was doing it on the NFL field before the game as part of the actual NFL broadcast.

Harrison Butker spoke far away from the NFL field at a Catholic college as a Catholic, and the Left is calling for him to be punished by the NFL.

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The real answer as to why this huge yawning gap has emerged in the United States is because there is a culture gap between the values of San Francisco and New York and the values of places like Youngstown, Ohio. It is a massive culture gap between people who believe as Harrison Butker does and people who believe as Joe Biden’s minions do.

Harrison Butker versus Colin Kaepernick is a good indicator of Right versus Left in the country right now.

And I think that unlike the media, more Americans agree with Harrison Butker than agree with Colin Kaepernick.

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