Kansas City Chafes

Image:  Facebook

You've probably heard about the commencement speech the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs gave earlier this month at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. If he meant to provoke, Harrison Butker hit it right between the uprights.

The obviously conservative Catholic referred to "the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it." He railed against "dangerous gender ideologies," as well as "the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion." Butker denounced abortion, and urged female graduates to embrace the role of homemaker and beware the "diabolical lies" about career ambition.

The NFL distanced itself from Butker's speech like Jerry Rice separating from a cornerback. Derision poured down on the kicker, who'd even managed to piss off Taylor Swift fans by misinterpreting her lyrics.

But here's my favorite part of the story:  An order of nuns affiliated with Benedictine College took to Facebook to (metaphorically) slap his hand with a ruler.

"The sisters of Mount St. Scholastica do not believe that Harrison Butker's comments in his 2024 Benedictine College commencement address represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested," declared the women religious.

"One of our concerns was the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman. We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God's people, including the many women whom we have taught and influenced during the past 160 years. These women have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given gifts in leadership, scholarship, and their careers."

Owie, that smarts.

An NFL defensive line is formidable, but Butker now faces angry queer people, nuns and Swifties, and that's scarier.