Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker kicked up dust about women entering the workforce during a Catholic college’s commencement, arguing they should instead focus on being wives, mothers, and homemakers.
The millionaire football player gave the commencement address at Benedictine College’s graduation ceremony on May 11. The speech was met with backlash on the internet after he railed against LGBTQ+ and abortion rights while preaching to the women in the audience, who he said had been told “diabolical lies.”
Ironically, Butker went out of his way to quote Taylor Swift, a working, billionaire woman who outearns him — by a lot — in her illustrious career.
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“As my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘familiarity breeds contempt,'” Butker said at one point during his speech, quoting Swift’s song “Bejeweled.” Butker did not directly name Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Butker is in the final year of a five-year contract worth over $20 million, according to USA Today. Meanwhile, Swift earns between $10 million to $13 million per night on her Eras Tour, Forbes estimated.
Later in his speech, Butker addressed the women who were graduating.
“How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career?” he asked. “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.”
He went on to applaud his wife, whose “life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother” and who took on “one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.” He added that her “dream of having a career might not have come true,” but that she doesn’t regret her decision.
Spokespersons for Swift and Butker did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Correction: May 15, 2024 — A previous version of this story misstated that Butker quoted Swift’s song “Karma.” He quoted her song “Bejeweled,” not the song “Karma.”
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