OAN Staff James Meyers
12:11 PM – Friday, October 11, 2024
The NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker endorsed GOP Missouri Senator Josh Hawley in his senatorial re-election bid, praising the former attorney general for being both a “family” and “Godly” man.
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Hawley and Butker made a joint appearance on Thursday during “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox News, where the NFL star said that since he had a bye week, he wanted to hit the campaign trail.
“This is Harrison Butker-you may know me as a three-time World Champion kicker, but that’s just my day job,” Butker said in the fundraising email, which was shared by Hawley. “At my core, I am a husband, a father, and most importantly a Christian who cares about the future of our nation.”
“I want to tell you about my friend Josh Hawley,” he added. “In a time when our nation is at a crossroads, Senator Hawley stands strong for many of the values that matter most to me and my family.”
“He’s not just a Senator; he’s a devout Christian, a family man, and a fighter for so much we hold dear,” the message continued. “Josh Hawley is relentless in defending religious rights, fighting for the Constitution, and standing up for the most vulnerable among us—the unborn.”
The Chiefs kicker added that Hawley’s “commitment to the pro-life movement” is one reason he’s supporting him, since he’s “the kind of leader who doesn’t back down when it matters most,” according to Butker.
However, Butker has faced ongoing scrutiny in recent times after his remarks about women and their careers during a commencement address at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts school, earlier this year.
He maintained that women should, most importantly, feel a sense of pride in becoming good mothers and wives after graduating college, as opposed to solely focusing on their careers.
The majority of the backlash came from those who questioned why he gave women advice but not the male college graduates advice on being leaders and providers who financially support their families (1 Timothy 5:8) and love their wives (Ephesians 5:25), which is also biblically-backed. Rather, he primarily only mentioned the female graduates, which some detractors argued was one-sided and misogynistic.
Nevertheless, Butker maintains that critics just perceived his words in a “poor manner.”
“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” Butker added.
Butker clarified his comments on the commencement speech to Fox News’ host Laura Ingraham.
“I was trying to speak life for so many women that have dedicated their life to being the homemaker, being the one that raises the children, and it’s a beautiful role, but it’s not a role that should be diminished,” he explained.
“There’s nothing shameful if you are a woman and you want to spend time with your family and raise your children, so it’s not putting down anyone who maybe wants to go get a great education and have a career, but it’s more talking about how beautiful it is for women to maybe just step aside and prioritize their family and spend time with their children and raise their family. And that’s what I was just trying to speak about love.”
Critics of the Catholic NFL kicker started a Change.org petition that called for the three-time Super Bowl champion to be dismissed from the team. Yet, the anger towards Butker has seemingly not been as powerful as the respect and love for the kicker, as he just recently beat out fellow teammate Travis Kelce for most jerseys sold, despite Kelce’s surge in popularity from his relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
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