Travis Kelce criticised “the majority” of Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement address.
Nearly two weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s “homemaker” remarks made news, Kelce responded on Friday’s episode of his “New Heights” podcast.
While the 34-year-old tight end admitted that his teammate, 28, is a “great person” who is entitled to his opinions, he added that he disagreed with “just about everything” except his love for his family and children.
Travis Kelce responded to Harrison Butker’s viral speech.
Kelce informed “New Heights” listeners that he disagreed with “the majority” of it.
However, he described his friend as a “great person.”
Kelce went on to laud his parents, Donna Kelce and Ed Kelce, for being “homemakers” and “providers” in his boyhood home.
“They were unbelievable at being present every single day of my life,” Travis stated. “That was a wonderful upbringing for me. … I am not the same person without them in my life.
“I’m just going to go back to my beliefs and my family,” he explained. “My views are never gonna be the same as the man next to me.”
Kelce noted that Butker is entitled to his own opinions.
During his May 11 statement, the kicker specifically targeted working women and Pride Month.
The participant said, “You put your differences inside for one goal in common, and that’s the beauty of team sports.”
His co-host and brother, Jason Kelce, stated that his wife, Kylie Kelce, was “frustrated” with Butker’s remarks at the Benedictine College commencement.
The Benedictine College lecture was severely criticised.
Butker and Kelce are colleagues since 2017.
The 36-year-old former Philadelphia Eagles player joked that he urged her to “go back in the kitchen and make [him] a sandwich” while watching a game.
“We were doing so good,” Travis added, laughing. “We were killing it.” “You are ridiculous.”
Jason ended by wishing Butker “best of luck with [his] kicks.”
He and Travis did not mention Butker alluding to Taylor Swift as his “teammate’s girlfriend” in the address—and quoting her “Bejewelled” lyrics.
Kelce explained that they can “put [our] differences inside for one goal in common.”
He mentioned how his own parents were both “homemakers” and “providers.”
The Grammy winner, 34, has yet to respond to the speech.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes broke his silence on Wednesday, telling a reporter that Butker is a “good person” who “might not” share his “values.”
Butker, for his part, has remained silent on social media since his May 11 speech, in which he criticised working women and Pride Month, went viral.
He complimented colleague Patrick Mahomes on his similar answer.
Photos of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Celebrating The 2024 Super Bowl
The athlete did not reference Butker’s quote about his girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
He and Travis have been playing together since Butker joined the Missouri-based squad in 2017.
In an interview with EWTN News in Depth in March, Butker acknowledged Travis’ brief flirtation with Swift, expressing his desire for the two to “get married and start a family.”
He has a son and a daughter with his wife, Isabelle Butker.