Butker, an American football player and placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, stirred controversy earlier this week when he spoke to Benedictine College’s graduating class.
The NFL star gave a rather contentious commencement address, but Whoopi Goldberg defended him, saying everyone has the “right to say how they feel.”
Butker, 28, addressed some subjects during his speech, including euthanasia, the LGBTQ+ community, and President Joe Biden.
Additionally, he advised the female audience members that being a “homemaker” should be their “most important title.”
Some have asked the Kansas City Chiefs to cut the athlete from the team, while the NFL has disassociated itself from the player’s opinions.
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Whether or not she agreed with Butker’s ideas, veteran panelist Goldberg, 68, supported the NFL star’s right to free speech on Thursday’s, edition of The View.
“I like when people say what they need to say. He is a devout Catholic who attends a Catholic college. He is free to hold on to these ideas; they are his own. I don’t have to accept them; I don’t have to believe them, and neither do the women seated in that audience”.
The Oscar winner continued by drawing comparisons between the incident and the protests against police brutality in the US led by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who began to kneel during the playing of the national anthem.
According to Goldberg, “We want to show respect to those who have different perspectives from our own because the guy who says he wants to be president, You-Know-Who, thinks the right thing to do is to take away people’s freedom to express their opinions. In the same way that we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, “We don’t want to be that. We don’t want to be those people.”
Sara Haines, a panelist on The View, expressed her disagreement with the content of Butker’s statement, but she also said she didn’t think he should lose his job due to the backlash.
“Butker’s speech could not be viewed in the same light as Kaepernick’s kneeling”. Haines shot back.
She went on to indicate that Butker’s opinions did not speak for all Catholics, adding, “Colin Kaepernick was standing up for the rights of many.”
Sunny Hostin of The View also criticized Butker for comments he made on the LGBTQ+ community, implying that Pride Month in June was an illustration of the “deadly sins”.
In addition to advising men to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men” and “be unapologetic in your masculinity,” Butker also cited Taylor Swift, who is predominantly linked to teammate Travis Kelce stating: “As my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt.'”