NFL's Roger Goodell sticks up for Harrison Butker as claims the league 'treasures' diversity of opinions

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is sticking up for Harrison Butker following the Chiefs kicker's controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College in Kansas earlier this month.

Butker, 28, delivered what has become a polarizing speech, May 11, at the Christian-affiliated liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, where the three-time Super Bowl champ said most women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having kids, and that some Catholic leaders were 'pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.'

Butker also assailed Pride month, an important time for the LGBTQ+ community, and President Joe Biden's stance on abortion, despite No. 46 being a catholic himself. 

On Wednesday, Goodell declined to expand on the NFL's statement distancing the league from Butker's comments. The league said that the comments and 'views are not those of the NFL as an organization.' 

'We have over 3,000 players,' Goodell said as the NFL concluded its spring meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. 

'We have executives around the league that have a diversity of opinions and thoughts, just like America does. I think that is something that we treasure, and that's part of, I think, ultimately what makes us as a society better.' 

Earlier in the day, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said that while he doesn't agree with all the beliefs espoused by Butker during his Class of 2024 address, he nevertheless respects his teammate's right to make them be known.

'I've known Harrison for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every single day,' he said after one of the Chiefs' voluntary practices in Kansas City.

'We're not always going to agree, and there are certain things he said that I don't necessarily agree with. But I know the person he is and he's doing what he can to lead people in the right direction.'   

Butker's comments were delivered the same week Mahomes offered a toast to the future of women in sports at the TIME100 Gala: 'I'd like to raise a glass to a new era in sports, an era when the women's game is finally getting the attention it deserves.'

'It was pretty bad timing, I guess you would say. I shot that a couple weeks before,' Mahomes said of the film spot. 'That's what makes this country so great is you're able to get as much knowledge as you can and make your own decisions.'

But, Mahomes admitted, 'it gets a little divisive sometimes when you get to social media and outside the (practice) building.'   

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after Wednesday's practice that while he 'talks to Harrison all the time,' he didn't believe he needed to discuss the commencement address with his kicker when the team reconvened in Kansas City.

'We're a microcosm of life here,' Reid said. 'We're from some different areas. Different religions. Different races. But we get along. We all respect each others' opinions, and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everyone to have a voice.'

Mahomes doesn't believe Butker's viewpoints will become a divisive issue in the locker room, either, as the Chiefs embark on their quest for a record-setting third consecutive Super Bowl title.

'There are certain values that some people emphasize more than others. There are certain things I don't necessarily agree with,' Mahomes said. 'I know what kind of person he is. I'm going to look at that first.'

Laura Bassett - a political reporter for The Huffington Post - disagreed with Goodell's neutral stance on Butker's controversial comments as she reposted an X post on the NFL Commissioner opening up on the matter. 

Yahoo Sports' senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein shared: 'NFL commissioner Roger Good on Harrison Butker's commencement speech: ''We have over 3,000 players. They have a diversity of opinions & thoughts just like America does. I think that's something that we treasure & that's part of ultimately what makes us as a society better.' 

'Unless you're Black and kneeling I guess,' Bassett responded, referring to the NFL's support for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. 

The league, which committed $250million over a 10-year period to combat systemic racism that same year, allowed players to display messages such as 'Stop Hate' and 'Black Lives Matter' on their helmets, as well as the names of Black people, such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, whose deaths set off widespread protests