OAN Staff Blake Wolf
4:46 PM – Friday, September 20, 2024
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who made headlines after making a speech that was meant to empower women to take pride in being stay at home wives and mothers, has outsold teammate Travis Kelce, despite Kelce’s surge in popularity from his relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
The increase in jersey sales follows a controversial commencement speech Butker made earlier this year at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts school in Kansas, where he encouraged the female graduates to “embrace” their calling, which is “marriage and the children [they] will bring into this world.”
During the speech, Butker, a Catholic, criticized Joe Biden’s pro-abortion stance and he also categorized pride month as a “deadly sin,” which resulted in a Change.org petition to have Butker released from the team garner 260,000 signatures.
Rather than releasing Butker, the Chiefs offered the star kicker a four-year $26.5 million contract in August, making him the highest paid kicker in league history.
In May, former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn slammed Butker for his traditional values, stating that “Harrison Butker doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members.”
Nevertheless, Kelce still supported Butker’s opinions amidst the backlash, stating “He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness, and that’s how he treats everyone. When it comes down to his views and what he said [in his] commencement speech, those are his.”
“I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids. And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am,” Kelce continued.
Butker’s historic jersey sales were ranked as the 11th best seller in the league, making him the second kicker in NFL history to rank inside the top 50 in jersey sales, along with Cincinnati Bengals’ Evan McPherson in 2022.
Kelce, despite seeing a boost in jersey sales from “Swifties,” which are what fans of his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, call themselves, followed one spot behind Butker in jersey sales, sitting at the 12th best in the NFL.
Although Butker has seen a massive boost in relation to his unapologetic speech, the “woke” corporate wing representing the NFL still attempted to distance itself from Butker’s conservative views.
“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,” the NFL’s Chief Diversity Officer, Jonathan Beane stated.
Meanwhile, Butker still continues to shine on the field, after kicking a 51-yard field goal that resulted in the defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The Chiefs face off against the Atlanta Falcons this upcoming Sunday.
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