Kansas City Chiefs' star Patrick Mahomes is offering his first public response to a controversial commencement address delivered by his teammate, Harrison Butker.
Mahomes defended Butker's character on Wednesday but said he did not "necessarily agree with" everything Butker said in his May 11th address to graduates at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas.
"There's certain things that he said that I don't necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is, and he is trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction," Mahomes said of Butker, according to ESPN. "And that might not be the same values as I have."
Mahomes continued, "But at the same time, I'm going to judge him by the character that he shows every single day. That's a great person, and we'll continue to move along and try to help build each other up to make ourselves better every single day."
In his 20-minute graduation speech, Butker, a kicker for the Chiefs, touched on issues including birth control and abortion and described Pride month, which typically falls in June and is dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, as a "deadly sin."
In comments directed to the college's female graduates, he said they had been told "the most diabolical lies."
The NFL star went on to say that his own wife, the mother of their two kids, started to "truly" live her life when "she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother."
"I'm on this stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation," Butker continued. "I am 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."
Butker's speech drew responses from organizations, including GLAAD, an LGBTQ+ organization, and the National Football League.
In a May 15 statement, Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, described Butker's speech as "inaccurate, ill-informed, and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women."
Kansas City Chiefs player faces backlash for graduation speech criticizing working women, calling Pride a 'deadly sin'The NFL told ABC News the organization is "steadfast" in its "commitment to inclusion."
"Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization," Jonathan Beane, the league's chief diversity and inclusion officer, told ABC News in a statement on May 15. "The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger."
In his first comments about Butker's speech, spoken to reporters after the team's organized team activities (OTA's) Wednesday, Mahomes seemed to describe Butker's speech as a "distraction" as preparations for the new NFL season get underway.
"But at the end of the day, we're going to come together as a team, and I think that'll help out as eliminating those distractions outside of the building, as well," he said.
Patrick Mahomes talks 2nd Super Bowl win, how he wants to be rememberedChiefs head coach Andy Reid also commented on Butker's speech, saying that it's important to "respect each other's opinions."
"We're a microcosm of life," Reid said, according to ESPN. "Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races. And so, we all get along, we all respect each other's opinions -- and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice. [That's the] great thing about America. And we're just, like I said, a microcosm of that, and my wish is that everybody could kind of follow that."
