Patrick Mahomes, Harrison Butker. Getty Images(2)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a two-time NFL MVP and one of the faces of the reigning Super Bowl champions, but he does not have a relationship with his team’s kicker.
Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show shortly after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win in February, he revealed that he does not speak with teammate Harrison Butker.
“Honestly, I don’t talk to Harrison all year long, man. I just let him do his thing,” said Mahomes, 28. “But I know if I can just cross that 40, man, if I cross that 40, he’s going to put it through there. I know if you saw in the game I got a little pressure, threw it short and knew Harrison was going to knock it through.”
Butker, 28, has made a name for himself on and off the field for very different reasons. As a kicker, he’s one of the best, knocking down better than 95 percent of his field goal attempts and setting the record for the longest make in Super Bowl history. Off the field, his controversial comments have been criticized as bigoted and misogynistic.
The kicker gave the commencement address at Benedictine College on Saturday, May 11, using his time to rail against Pride Month (calling the LGBTQ+ celebration a “deadly sin”) and claim that the majority of the graduating women in the audience are most excited to be homemakers.
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He also criticized President Joe Biden for being a pro-choice Catholic and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally,” Butker said.
In Mahomes’ interview with McAfee, the quarterback didn’t back down when pushed about even saying “hello” to Butker.
“We sit right beside each other in team meetings, and I don’t say one word to him. Only before the season and after the season,” Mahomes said.
The Chiefs have not commented on Butker’s controversial commencement address, but fans of Taylor Swift have flooded social media, calling for him to be banned from the NFL. Swift, 34, is dating Travis Kelce, Butker’s teammate on the Chiefs.
Kelce has yet to address the issue, but Justice Horn, chair of Kansas City’s LGBTQ Commission posted via X, “Harrison Butker doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members.”