Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid spoke in support of Harrison Butker on Wednesday as the Chiefs’ kicker continued to face pushback over his recent commencement speech.
After being asked about Butker during a press conference, Reid described the value of free speech.
“We’re a microcosm of life here (on the team). Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races. ... We all get along, we all respect each other’s opinions. Not necessarily do we go by those but we respect everybody’s (right) to have a voice. That’s the great thing about America, man,” he said, according to a video shared on X by NFL reporter Ari Meirov.
Reid was also asked what he would say to women who work for the Chiefs organization who were upset by Butker’s comments about women.
In Butker’s commencement speech, he spoke to female graduates about the joy of becoming a wife and mother and said that “homemaker” was “one of the most important titles of all.” As clips from the speech went viral last week, some claimed that Butker believes women belong at home in the kitchen.
Reid said no one with the team has raised that concern — and then took a jab at reporters.
“I don’t think he was speaking ill of women. He has his opinions and we all respect that. I let you guys in this room and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like,” Reid said.
Also on Wednesday, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked to address Butker’s speech at Benedictine College.
Like Reid, Mahomes spoke about how the team navigates differences of opinion and embraces diversity.
“When you’re in the locker room, there’s a lot of people from a lot of different areas in life and they have a lot of different views on everything. We’re not always going to agree, there are certain things that (Butker) said that I don’t necessarily agree with but I understand the person he is and he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction,” he said, according to a transcript shared on X by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Mahomes said he’s going to judge Butker based on who he is day in and day out, not based on one commencement speech.
“I’ve known Harrison, I’ve known him for seven years. I judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a good person, that’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact on society,” he said.