Travis Kelce’s Take On Harrison Butker’s Controversial Speech Raises Eyebrows

Travis Kelce has finally shared his opinion on his teammate Harrison Butker‘s controversial speech at the Benedictine College commencement. While saying that Butker is a “great person” with a right to his opinions, Travis maintained that they don’t share the same views.

In his controversial address, Butker also mentioned Travis’ girlfriend, Taylor Swift, and quoted some of her lyrics. He has been heavily criticized by Maria Shriver, Brooke Schwartz, Jenna Bush Hager, Hoda Kotb, and even Patrick Mahomes has spoken on it.

Travis Kelce has revealed that he doesn’t disagree with “the majority” of the controversial speech delivered by teammate Harrison Butker at the recent Benedictine College commencement. He shared his opinion during Friday’s episode of his “New Heights” podcast with brother Jason Kelce.

During the podcast episode, Travis stated that Butker is a “great person” who is entitled to his own views. However, the NFL star made it clear that he doesn’t agree with most of Butker’s speech, except the part about him “loving his family and his kids.”

Travis further praised his own parents, Donna and Ed, for being both “homemakers” and “providers” to their kids.

He said, “They were unbelievable at being present every single day of my life. That was a beautiful upbringing for me. … I’m not the same person without both of them being who they were in my life. I’m just gonna go back to my beliefs and my family. My views are never gonna be the same as the man next to me.”

Despite noting that he does not agree with most of Butker’s statements, fans were still displeased by Travis’ positive depiction of Butker, with some even claiming it may affect his relationship with Taylor Swift.

One person said, “I hear a new TS break-up song coming….” Another commented, “Well I guess the chief’s management sent the word out to support the piece of trash kicker. If the kicker starts missing a bunch of field goals this season the support will mysteriously end.”

However, several noted that Travis and Butker have been friends for a long time and that the Chiefs tight end has always had good things to say about the kicker.

“Travis and Harrison are friends. On New Heights, Travis always has good things to say about Harrison. It is possible to be friends with someone that has differing beliefs than you,” one X user noted.

During the episode, Jason also shared the reaction of his wife, Kylie Kelce, to Butker’s speech. The former Philadelphia Eagles player shared that Kylie was extremely “frustrated” with Butker’s speech, which has since gone viral on social media and been termed extremely sexist and anti-LGBTQIA.

Jason further joked that he told Kylie to “go back in the kitchen and make a sandwich” for him while he was busy watching a game.

This caused Travis to burst into laughter and he said, “We were doing so good. We were killing it. … You’re ridiculous.” Jason wrapped up his commentary on Butker’s speech by wishing him “best of luck with [his] kicks.”

During the commencement speech, Butker also made another blunder that’s gotten heavy criticism. He mentioned Travis’s girlfriend, famous singer Taylor Swift, referencing her as his “teammate’s girlfriend” and quoting lyrics from her “Bejeweled” song. Neither Travis nor Swift have reacted to that portion of the speech.

Butker himself has remained silent since the criticism against the speech began. However, the NFL player has been in hot water with big names like Hoda Kotb, Maria Shriver, Jenna Bush Hager, and many more celebrities. Swift’s fans have also lit him up on social media, criticizing his use of her lyrics.

Brooke Schwartz, wife of former Kansas City Chiefs star Mitch Schwartz, also criticized him for using her lyrics. She posted a screenshot of lyrics from another of Swift’s songs, “You Need To Calm Down,” which is very pro-LGBTQIA, and wrote, “Is he unaware of her very public views?”

Another NFL star, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, has also spoken about Butker’s speech.

On Wednesday, after team practice, Mahomes told a reporter that Butker is a “good person” but that they “might not” have any similarity in their “values.”

He said, “I’ve known Harrison for seven years, and 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 in society.”