Patrick Mahomes says he doesn’t share many of the views of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker but has defended his teammate’s character.
Butker attracted widespread criticism this month – and praise from some on the right – after he attacked Pride month, working women and abortion rights activists during a commencement speech at Benedictine College.
Mahomes, widely acknowledged as the best player in the NFL, was asked about Butker’s comments at a Chiefs workout session on Wednesday.
“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, who has won three Super Bowls alongside Butker, said. “And that might not be the same values as I have, 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.
“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.”
During his speech at Benedictine College, Butker told female graduates that they had been told the “most diabolic” lies and praised his wife for taking on the “vocation of homemaker”.
On Wednesday, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he would not comment on Butker’s views as “we respect each other’s opinions”.
“We’re a microcosm of life,” Reid said. “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.”
In contrast to Reid and Mahomes, the NFL has distanced itself from Butker’s views.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” the league’s chief diversity officer, Jonathan Beane, said last week. “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
Butker also quoted Taylor Swift lyrics during his speech. Swift is in a high-profile relationship with another member of the Chiefs, Travis Kelce. Swift and Kelce have not commented on Butker’s views.
The Chiefs have had a number of unsavory off-field episodes in recent seasons. Reid’s son Britt was given a jail sentence after a car crash in which is girl was severely injured. Britt Reid was later found to have been driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding at the time of the crash. Meanwhile, Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice could face legal consequences over a crash in Dallas this offseason. Rice was also accused of assaulting a man in a Dallas nightclub. The alleged victim has since said he does not wish to press charges.
Mahomes said he hopes Rice can learn lessons from the last few weeks.
“I think it’s just trying to do whatever we can to teach him how to learn from his mistakes,” Mahomes said. “I mean obviously that was a big mistake, but you have to learn from it, make sure it doesn’t happen again and try to do whatever you can to be the best person you can be in society, not only for yourself but for the people around you. And I think he is doing that, but right now we’re just going to keep trying to do whatever we can to get him on the right path so that he can be a great football player obviously, but we want to be a great person, too.”
The Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five seasons in February and are expected to challenge for the championship once again in 2024.
