KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The owner of the Kansas Town Chiefs declared Wednesday that he is wrong for kicker Harrison Butker to launch a political action committee designed to inspire Christians to vote for what the PAC describes as “traditional values.” “.
Butker featured his UPRIGHT PAC extreme weekend, throughout the Chiefs’ bye, in a series of social media posts.
“One of the things I talk to players about every year in training camp is using their platform to make a difference,” Chiefs president Clark Hunt said. “We have players on both sides of the political spectrum, on both sides of any controversial issue you want to raise. I’m not at all concerned about our players using their platform to make a difference.”
Butker is front and center on the UPRIGHT PAC site alongside Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who earned the kicker’s endorsement ahead of the general election against Democrat Lucas Kunce.
“We see our values attacked every day. In our schools, in the media and even by our own government. But we have the opportunity to stand up for ourselves and reclaim the traditional values that have made this country great,” the PAC said. it says on its site. “We are working to mobilize Christians across the country to ensure we protect these values at the ballot box.
Butker first made what he called a “very intentional” foray into politics in May, when he gave a polarizing commencement speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas. The three-time Super Bowl champion said, among other things, that most women who received titles were probably more enthusiastic about getting married and having children, and that some Catholic leaders were “pushing bad gender ideologies in the early life of the United States.” Joined”. ”
Butker also attacked Pride month, an important time for the LGBTQ+ community, and President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion.
The NFL distanced itself from Butker’s comments and later issued a statement saying: “His perspectives do not appear to be those of the NFL as a company. The NFL is steadfast in our resolve toward inclusion, which simply makes our league more powerful”. “.
“I’ve just decided, ‘You know what? There are things that I believe with all my heart that I believe will make this world a bigger park,’ and I’m going to evangelize that,” Butker said, when asked about the speech during training. . camp. “If people don’t agree, they don’t agree, but I’m going to continue to say what I think is true and love everyone in the best way.”
The Hunt family has supported a group urging Missouri voters to reject a ballot measure that would overturn a near-total ban on abortion in the state through Unity Hunt, the company that oversees the Lamar Hunt family’s assets. The Chiefs declined to comment on the $300,000 donation except to confirm to The Kansas City Star that the money was transferred by Clark Hunt’s half-brother, Lamar Hunt Jr., through his account with Unity Hunt.
Meanwhile, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said last month that he would not endorse Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the November election, even as the former president repeatedly referred to his wife, Brittany, as a supporter of his campaign.
“I don’t need my park and my platform to be affected to endorse a candidate,” Mahomes said. “My goal is to tell the population to register to vote. It is to tell the population to do their own analysis and then build the most efficient option for themselves and their people.”
Those comments came less than a day after Taylor Swift, who is dating the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and has become friends with the Mahomes family, endorsed Harris for president. That led Trump to tell Fox News: “I actually like Mrs. Mahomes a lot more, if you want to know the truth. She’s a big Trump fan. I love Brittany. I feel like Brittany is admirable.”
Patrick Mahomes was asked Wednesday about Trump’s references to his wife and said that “at the end of the presentation, it’s about me and my people and how we treat the alternative population.”
“I think Brittany is seen as doing crowd work. I do crowd work to help increase the population and give the population an opportunity to express themselves,” she said. “In political times, the population is coming up with important things here and there, but I will not let that affect the way I advance in my industry in each and every one of my generations, and I try to live it to the best possible way. my talent.”
