Jason Kelce shared his thoughts on Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech that sparked backlash among NFL fans.
During a new episode of New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, Jason, 36, weighed in on the 28-year-old Chiefs kicker’s speech, in which Butker spoke about various “diabolical lies told to women” about topics including abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy during a speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic school.
Jason, a father of three girls, said he’s had “so many people” ask him what he would do if his daughters “had to sit there and listen to somebody tell them after they just earned a degree, that they should just align to be homemakers.”
“I would say, if my daughters listen to anybody tell them what to do, that they should be homemakers, then I’ve failed as a dad,” the former Eagles center told his brother, Travis, 34, who has been teammates with Butker since 2017.
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Jason continued, “I don’t care who’s talking to them. If you let somebody up on a stage tell you that you can’t do that, and then you’re like, ‘Oh, f—, I guess I won’t go be a Fortune 500 CEO,’ like, you weren’t going to make it,” prompting a laugh from Travis.
“If you don’t like what somebody says, all you’ve got to do is say, oh, that guy is a f—ing idiot, and then you move on,” Jason advised, adding that he wasn’t sure what “the big fuss” was about Butker’s speech.
Walking back that sentiment a bit, Jason said, “I mean, I get what the fuss is about because I know that certain of these groups have been, persecuted against for a long period in this country, and women in particular,” sharing that his wife, Kylie Kelce, was “a little bit frustrated with some of the comments” Butker made.
Jason Kelce and Kylie Kelce attend Thursday Night Football Presents The World Premiere of “Kelce”.
Lisa Lake/Getty Images
Jason, who shares Wyatt, 4, Elliotte, 3, and Bennett, 1, with Kylie, then poked fun at Butker’s sentiments, saying he “initially” told Kylie, “Listen. You’re gonna need to go back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich.”
Travis shared his reaction to Butker’s speech during the podcast as well, calling the kicker a “great person and a great teammate.”
“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 at [Benedictine’s] commencement speech, those are his,” the tight end continued.
“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,” Travis added.
