The second-largest newspaper in Missouri is calling for Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker to be given the boot and replaced with a woman over his remarks during a commencement speech at a small liberal arts college.
An op-ed by Peter Hamm in The Kansas City Star stated that Butker's faith-based actions warrant retribution: “For poetic justice after Harrison Butker's Neanderthal outburst — and because the pipeline of talent is real — the Kansas City Chiefs' next kicker should be a woman.”
“This is not a joke. It's not unrealistic. And it would be good for business,” said Hamm in all seriousness. (RELATED: Former ESPN Host Pulls The Curtain Back On ‘Scripted' Biden Interview)
“This is so far detached from reality I almost have to wonder if it's performance art.” Outkick's David Hookstead tweeted. Bobby Burack, also of Outkick, has more:
Either that, or the article is pandering.
Dropping Butker for a female kicker would require the Chiefs to wave goodbye to their ambitious three-peat quest. (No team has ever won three straight Super Bowls. The Chiefs are betting favorites to do so this season).
Kansas City won their last three playoff games last season by one possession. Butker was a perfect 11-for-11 in the playoffs.
The Chiefs do not win the past two Super Bowls without Butker's ace kicking in the clutch — be it his 45-yarder sending the Chiefs to the Super Bowl two seasons ago; his record-setting 57-yard field goal to keep the Chiefs in the Super Bowl last February; or his kick to send the Super Bowl into the overtime, where the Chiefs eventual topped the 49ers.
Butker's speech sparked outrage on the left due to statements that critics deemed discriminatory and harmful. While speaking to graduates at Benedictine College in Hutchinson, Kansas, the Super Bowl champion criticized Pride Month, referring to it as a celebration of one of the “deadly sins.” He also stated that the primary fulfillment for female graduates should come from being mothers and homemakers, rather than from their careers. Additionally, Butker expressed criticism towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as well as surrogate pregnancy and in vitro fertilization.
The public nature of Butker's address fueled criticism, even though plenty of NFL players have committed objectively egregious and criminal acts. (RELATED: World's No. 1 Golfer Scottie Scheffler Charged With Assaulting Police Officer Outside PGA Championship)
Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Butker received a robust outpouring of support from fans, celebrities and the wife and daughter of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.
Beyond the left's expected reaction, the NFL has strongly criticized three-time Super Bowl champion. The league's chief diversity and inclusion officer even complained that the kicker's devout Catholicism was not in line with the inclusive values the league aims to uphold.
Butker also addressed concerns that speaking the truth had become unpopular. He is universally recognized as one of the league's best kickers, with the second-highest field goal percentage (81.9%) in NFL history.
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