Last weekend, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered the commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kansas. Instead of imparting the graduates with words of wisdom and encouragement for the future (or celebrating all their hard work over the previous four years), he used the opportunity to be both homophobic and a huge misogynist all in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, he even earned a “standing ovation from everyone in the room,” as one student, who booed Butker, detailed on social media.
Butker began by empathizing with the students for surviving “bad policies and poor leadership” and grappling with issues like “abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values in media.” (OK, sure, dude.) He then ranted about “the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion” and called Pride month a “deadly sin” celebrating “dangerous gender ideologies” before speaking directly to the “ladies” in the room.
Speaking directly to a crowd of women who have just accomplished an incredible achievement—and undoubtedly busted their butts to get to this day—he declared that most women there were more excited “about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Of his wife, Isabelle Butker, he said, “Isabelle’s dream of having a career might not have come true, but if you asked her today if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud, without hesitation, and say, ‘heck no.’” He also told the female students that a woman’s “most important title” should be “homemaker.”
One graduating student, Susannah Leisegang, shared her reaction to Butker’s speech, noting that “there was a standing ovation from everyone in the room, except from me, my roommate and about 10 to 15 other women,” who booed him. Though she noted that Benedictine is “a Catholic and conservative college,” she called the experience “f*cking horrible,” adding, “Most of the women were looking back and forth at each other, like ‘what the f*ck is going on?’”
“I’m excited for what my career brings me, and no, I’m not a f*cking homemaker,” she continued. “Getting married and having kids is not my ideal situation right now.”
Unfortunately, it seems that the situation cast a cloud on her commencement experience. “It definitely made graduation feel a little less special knowing I had to sit through that and get told I’m nothing but a homemaker.”
What an absolute bummer—yet wholly unsurprising—that someone who holds those views would use their platform on such a momentous occasion for so many students to regurgitate such garbage. Hopefully Leisegang (and all the other women in attendance) were able to celebrate their achievements in their own way, and we hope they know that we’re proud of them no matter what path they choose to take.