Why Whoopi Goldberg Is Defending Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Amid Controversy

Whoopi Goldberg took a moment to defend Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker during a recent episode of The View after he received backlash for a recent commencement speech.

After Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker came under fire for the opinions shared during his commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., the talk show host is defending his right to say what he wishes.

“I like when people say what they need to say—he’s at a Catholic College, he’s a staunch Catholic,” she said during the May 16 episode of The View. “These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to him. I don’t have to believe them, right? I don’t have to accept them. The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them.”

She also compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick‘s taking a knee during the national anthem, explaining, “The same way we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours.”

But while she expressed her belief that Harrison is entitled to his views, the 68-year-old noted that doesn’t mean those in the audience—at the graduation and now beyond—have to take what he said to heart.

“I’m okay with him saying whatever he says and the women who are sitting there if they take his advice, good for them, they’ll be happy,” she added. “If they don’t go for them, they will be happy a different way. That’s my attitude.”

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Among the many topics Harrison touched on during the May 11 commencement speech was what he views as women’s roles in society.

“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?” the 28-year-old asked the female students. “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 continued, adding his wife Isabelle Butker, with whom he shares two young kids, “would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother” and praised her for embracing “one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

But while the NFL player’s comments angered users online, with many asking he be dismissed from the team, Whoopi stressed her belief he should not be fired.

As she put it, noting it happens to her and her fellow View hosts, “If you say to somebody, ‘I don’t like what you said and so I’m going to get your job taken away because you disagree with me,’ for me that is an issue. That is why I am standing up for him.”

Though no action has been taken against Harrison at this time, the NFL did release a statement distancing itself from the player’s comments.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said in a statement to People. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

Read on to see more stars who have weighed in on the controversy.

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Maren Morris

The “Bones” singer reacted to Harrison’s speech with a reference to a social media trend in which women say whether they’d rather encounter a bear or a man while alone in the woods.

Under a video of the NFL player’s speech, Maren wrote on her Instagram Story, “I choose the bear.”

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Maria Shriver

“What point was Harrison Butker really trying to make to women in his graduation speech about their present day life choices?” Maria wrote on X, formerly Twitter, May 16. “Did he really want them, aka us, to believe that our lives truly only begin when we lean into the vocation of wife and mother?”

“Look, everyone has the right to free speech in our country,” she continued. “That’s the benefit of living in a democracy. But those of us who are women and who have a voice have the right to disagree with Butker.”

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Patricia Heaton

“I don’t understand why everybody’s knickers in a twist,” the Everybody Loves Raymond actor shared in a video. “He gave a commencement speech. The audience applauded twice during the speech and gave him a standing ovation at the end. So clearly they enjoyed what he was saying. The guy is espousing his own opinions and Catholic doctrine.”

“So what? It’s his opnion, he can have one,” she continued. “He’s not a monster for stating what he believes.”

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Whoopi Goldberg

“I like when people say what they need to say—he’s at a Catholic College, he’s a staunch Catholic,” she said during the May 16 episode of The View. “These are his beliefs and he’s welcome to him. I don’t have to believe them, right? I don’t have to accept them. The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them.”

“I’m okay with him saying whatever he says and the women who are sitting there if they take his advice, good for them, they’ll be happy,” she added. “If they don’t go for them, they will be happy a different way. That’s my attitude.”

Patrick Mahomes

“There’s certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback explained during a May 22 press conference, “but I understand the person that he is and he is trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”

“And that might not be the same values as I have, but at the same time, I’m going to judge him by the character that he shows every single day,” he said. “That’s a great person and we’ll continue to move along and try to help build each other up to make ourselves better every single day.”

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Andy Reid

“Everybody’s got their own opinion,” the Kansas City Chiefs coach said during a May 22 press conference. “And that’s what’s so great about this country, you could share those things, and you work through it.”

“I didn’t talk to him about this, didn’t think we’d need to,” he continued. “We’re a microcosm of life here, everybody’s from different areas, different religions, different races. And so we all get along, we all respect each other’s opinions, and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice. It’s a great thing about America. And we’re just like I said a microcosm of that and my wish that everybody could kind of follow that.”

“I don’t think he was speaking ill of women,” he added. “He has his opinions, and we all respect that.”

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Bill Maher

While emphasizing “how much this guy is not like me,” the TV host did say OF Harrison’s speech during Real Time, “I don’t see what the big crime is, I really don’t.”

He continued, “Like he’s saying some of you may go on to successful careers, but a lot of you are excited about this other way that people, everybody used to be and now can. Can’t that just be a choice too?”

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Tavia and Gracie Hunt

The wife and daughter of the Kansas City Chiefs CEO, Clark Hunt, spoke out following the team kicker’s controversial statements.

“I’ve always encouraged my daughters to be highly educated and chase their dreams,” Tavia, who also shares daughter Ava Hunt, 18, and son Knobel Hunt, 20, with Clark, wrote on Instagram, alongside throwback pics of herself with her kids. “I want them to know that they can do whatever they want (that honors God). But I also want them to know that I believe finding a spouse who loves and honors you as or before himself and raising a family together is one of the greatest blessings this world has to offer.”

Gracie, 25, then told Fox News’ Fox & Friends, “I’ve had the most incredible mom who had the ability to stay home and be with us as kids growing up. And I understand that there are many women out there who can’t make that decision. But for me and my life, I know it was really formative and in shaping me and my siblings into who we are.”

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Roger Goodell

“Listen, we have over 3,000 players. We have executives around the league. They have a diversity of opinions and thoughts just like America does,” the NFL commissioner said. “I think that’s something that we treasure and that’s part of, I think, ultimately what makes us as a society better.”