Recently, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker received backlash over controversial statements he made during his commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kansas.
Many observers since then have questioned why Butker did not receive similar blowback as Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during pregame performances of the national anthem in silent protest against police brutality in 2016. It appears the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is asking the same question.
On May 11, during his roughly 20-minute commencement speech, Butker told the women in Benedictine College’s graduating class that they had been fed “diabolical lies.” He suggested that women’s most important role is to be “homemakers.” He also shared his personal views on other topics, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), and strongly denounced “the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Although Kaepernick has not been in the league for several years, the outcry over his silent protest and subsequent treatment by the NFL has returned to the forefront after Butker stirred controversy.
On May 24, Nessa Diab, Kaepernick’s longtime girlfriend, shared a tweet from a human rights lawyer suggesting that “hypocrisy” played a role in the NFL’s response to Butker’s remarks, compared to the league’s stance on Kaepernick’s actions almost eight years ago.
The tweet compared Goodell’s 2024 response to Butker’s speech, where the commissioner says that he believes that all players have the right to diverse opinions, to Goodell’s response to the anthem protest controversy in 2017, where he said in an NFL memo that the league’s position was that players should stand for the national anthem and the United States flag.
Diab screenshot the post from X and added the hashtags #IMWITHKAP and #STILLWITHKAP alongside the message “Still With You @Kaepernick7.” Kaepernick reshared Diab’s post on his Instagram Stories.
“What about Kap? Oh right, he’s black. Worst commissioner ever,” one person wrote on X in response to Goodell’s full statement.
“Ok I agree w kap this time,” another X user wrote. “Goodell saying wat he said and yet no one did that w kap is horse sh—.”
Just four days following Butker’s controversial speech, the NFL released a statement suggesting that the kicker’s views did not align with the league’s.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told People magazine in a written statement. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
Butker’s teammate Patrick Mahomes, also addressed the comments made in the commencement speech. While the MVP quarterback implied that he did not fully agree with the remarks, he did express support for Butker, describing him as a “good person.”
“I judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a good person as someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family, wants to make a good impact in society,” Mahomes said. “We’re not always going to agree, and there’s certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is, and he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid also noted that it was his understanding that no women within the Chiefs organization had directly spoken to Butker about the speech. The Chiefs are scheduled to visit the White House on May 31 to commemorate their Super Bowl LVIII victory. Reid hinted that Butker would travel to Washington with the team.
In 2017, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL, accusing league owners of colluding to keep him out of the league after he opted to become a free agent that year. It was settled in 2019.
Butker has one year remaining on his contract with the Chiefs.
