On Friday, CBS finally joined the virulently anti-family liberal media’s rhetorical lynch mob fighting to convict Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in the court of public opinion with a discussion during CBS Mornings and, while ABC moved on, NBC’s Today upped the intensity of its disgusting and hypocritical venom toward a speech about the importance of the family.
In other words, Butker stood up for something the three co-hosts on Today have personally and repeatedly discussed is paramount to their lives. Instead of scorning him, they could have mentioned the numerous charities Butker has supported, include Foster’s Outriders charity (which our Craig Bannister explained here).
CBS roped Butker into their “Talk of the Table” segment with fill-in featured co-host Nancy Chen claiming Butker “seemed to dismiss women with career goals.”
Oof. We’re already off to a bad start. Butker said, in fact, nothing of the sort of instead argued many of the female graduates would come to see motherhood and marriage as their greatest accomplishment.
Co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King and co-host Nate Burleson went first, opining Butker shouldn’t lose his job.
“I think everybody has the right to be wrong or hold opinions that others feel are wrong, but he has a right to say what he believes. But it is — it is — was very antiquated thinking, I think, in 2024. But a lot of people — a lot of people feel the way he does. The fact that he got a standing ovation, I think, says a lot,” King added.
Co-host Tony Dokoupil made the necessary and obvious point:
A Catholic guy at a Catholic college expressing deeply Catholic views...free speech...free religion, free assembly. I mean, when — inclusion in America includes that kind of American as well. And no one speaks up for the traditional family in public life that often...It’s a voice we had not heard in that way.
Burleson weighed in again: “[F]ree speech also applies to the criticism that he’s facing because you’re speaking on that platform...[O]ver the 11 years I spent in the NFL, we h and inclusive organizations. And I would hope that the views of athletes represent what I felt in the ave had diverse locker room which we were accepting of everybody.”
Burleson and company closed by proving they hadn’t read, watched, or understood the speech (click “expand”):
BURLESON: Now, as far as women graduating and getting promotions and leading companies, I fully do support that. I think it was somewhat dismissive, saying that every woman is thinking about marriage and kids —
KING: Yeah.
BURLESON: — cause they might not.
KING: They’re not.
BURLESON: Cause women, yes, they can do —
CHEN: Yes.
BURLESON: — they can be at home.
CHEN: Absolutely.
BURLESON: They can also be bad asses in the corporate world.
CHEN: Yes, yes, yes. Well said.
DOKOUPIL: Absolutely and I’m defending his right to say what he said. I’m not —
KING: Yes.
DOKOUPIL: — agreeing with him, to be clear.
KING: Exactly.
BURLESON: Yeah, no. For sure.
DOKOUPIL: Yeah.
BURLESON: For sure. I think we’re all on the same page here.
Over on NBC, Today co-host Savannah Guthrie reveled in tease over the “new outrage” and “uproar grow[ing] over that controversial graduation speech” with “[w]omen inside the NFL now weighing in.”
Guthrie had a second tease and doubled down by calling Butker’s speech about God and parenthood — something Guthrie has written and spoken about extensively — a “firestorm”.
Co-host Craig Melvin, a Christ follower who recently released a children’s book in part about parenthood, began the segment by touting the “new fallout surrounding that controversial commencement speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.”
Correspondent Liz Kreutz had the report and immediately (and falsely) labeled Butker’s pro-family, pro-God remarks a “firebrand speech” triggering “growing backlash” for“encouraging women to become what he says is one of the most important roles, homemaker.”
Kreutz conceded the wife of the current Chiefs owner voiced support for Butker by saying his remarks weren’t “bigoted”, but pushed her aside in favor of TikTok videos and referred to the Chargers by their former city, San Diego (click “expand”):
KREUTZ: But others associated with the game have expressed outrage at Butker’s comments, including the wife of a fellow NFL player.
ALLISON KUCH: My life didn’t start when I married my husband.
KREUTZ: And a former Chiefs cheerleader.
TIKTOKER USER “STEFHILLS”: When you say stay in your lane ten plus times, brah take your own advice.
KREUTZ: The San Diego [sic] Chargers taking the opportunity to mock Butker in its schedule release video, showing the player in a kitchen in a simulated video. While for the catholic community, the debate is real. Some support —
TIKTOK USER: A Catholic men encouraging Catholic beliefs to Catholic students is a breath of fresh area.
KREUTZ: — but his words rubbed some Catholic students the wrong way. Mary Oger (sp?) graduated from benedictine college in 2019. [TO OGER (sp?] What offended you about his remarks?
MARY OGER (sp?): It’s disheartening — [JUMP CUT] — and all of that would boil down to I bet you’re most excited to go out and start a family.
Kreutz even found — no joke — a so-called trans Catholic to pile on:
KREUTZ: Some in the LGBTQ community saying his comments don’t reflect everyone in the Catholic Church.
TRANSFORMATIONS BOARD MEMBER DONATO FATUSEI: I know from my personal experience growing up in the Catholic Church that I was loved on and affirmed as a trans person.
To see the relevant transcripts from May 17, click here (for CBS) and here (for NBC).
