Kansas City Chiefs’ celebratory trip to the White House comes with undercurrent of tension
CNN
The visit by the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday carries an underlying level of tension not often felt at championship celebrations at the White House.
The visit by the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday carries an underlying level of tension not often felt at championship celebrations at the White House. It’s been only a few weeks since Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker criticized President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, and other unnamed Catholic leaders for “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America” — an apparent reference to transgender rights. His commencement address at Benedictine College also contained numerous other controversial statements, such as swipes at LGBTQ people, calling Pride Month a “deadly sin,” bemoaning diversity and equity initiatives and suggesting women find more fulfillment from getting married and having children than from their careers. “I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” said Butker, who is also Catholic, during the speech. “How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? 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.” Butker also praised his wife, Isabelle, saying she “would be the first to say her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” His criticism of Biden and the swirling controversy around Butker after the speech went viral led to speculation that the kicker — who wore a tie with an anti-abortion phrase on it to the White House last year when the Chiefs last visited to celebrate a Super Bowl win — would skip the visit this year.
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