Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce addressed teammate Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College earlier this month.
The kicker’s remarks to the school’s 2024 graduating class went viral and were critiqued for being sexist, anti-gay, and antisemitic. Butker also referenced pop megastar Taylor Swift, who is dating Kelce, as “my teammate's girlfriend” in his speech.
“I’ve known him for seven-plus years, probably eight-plus years, and I cherish him as a teammate,” Kelce said in an episode of his “New Heights” podcast released Friday. “He’s treated friends and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness, and that’s how he treats everyone.”
“When it comes down to his views and what he said … those are his,” Kelce continued. “I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it, outside of just him loving his family and his kids.”
“My mother and my father both provided for our family, and both my mother and my father made home what it was. So, they were homemakers and they were providers, and they were unbelievable at being present every single day in my life,” he added.
