Harrison Butker fired back at Serena Williams for publicly dissing him onstage during the 2024 ESPYs.
“I thought Mrs. Williams was a great host and applaud her for using her platform to express her beliefs on a variety of topics,” Butker, who went viral for his controversial commencement speech earlier this year, said in a statement to NBC News Friday.
He added, “Sports are supposed to be the great unifier and at an event dedicated to celebrating a diverse group of men and women who have accomplished great feats, she used it as an opportunity to disinvite those with whom she disagrees with from supporting fellow athletes.”
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While hosting the award show Thursday, Williams, 42, was onstage with her sister Venus Williams and “Abbott Elementary” actress Quinta Brunson talking about women’s sports when she made the jab.
“Go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sport,” Venus, 44, said before Serena, quipped, “Except you, Harrison Butker, we don’t need you.”
Brunson, 34, chimed in, “At all, like, ever.”
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker, 28, was in the audience, but the camera did not show his reaction to the comments.
Butker went viral in May for his commencement speech at Benedictine College’s graduation ceremony where he encouraged women to be “homemakers.”
“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,” he said.
Butker added, “I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
Following the outage and backlash from the speech, in which the kicker also railed against the LGBTQIA+ community, Butker doubled down on his views.
“It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all,” he said. “If we have truth and charity, we should trust in the Lord’s providence and let the Holy Ghost do the rest of the work.”
His teammates at the time, including Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, stated they don’t agree with his views, though the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback commented that Butker was a “good person.”
“My views are never gonna be the same as the man next to me. You put your differences inside for one goal in common, and that’s the beauty of team sports.” Kelce said at the time.
