Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Finally Speaks To NFL Media: 'I Stand Behind What I Said'

It's been quite the year for Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. 

In February, he converted a game-tying field goal in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. The Chiefs eventually won with a touchdown in overtime, the third championship of Butker's career. 

Then, in May, Butker delivered the commencement address to the graduating class at Benedictine College. The speech seemingly divided the nation, with many attacking Butker while many others praised him. 

Finally, earlier this week, Butker signed a contract extension with the Chiefs that made him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. 

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, fresh off signing a new contract extension, finally addressed his commencement speech that created controversy.

(Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports)

Butker defended himself shortly after the speech went viral when he spoke at a Catholic charity event. 

He had not yet, however, faced the media since the controversy arose. Nor had he spoken about the commencement address in an official NFL capacity. 

But that changed on Wednesday afternoon. Butker took the podium after Chiefs practice to talk about his brand-new contract extension and, of course, his graduation speech came up. 

Kansas Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker spoke to the NFL media for the first time since giving the commencement address at Benedictine College in May.

The Kansas City kicker gave the speech nearly three months ago, and his tune hasn't changed at all, despite the backlash. 

"In terms of what I said, I prayed about it and I thought about it, and I was very intentional with what I said," Butker told the gathered media. 

"And I stand behind what I said, and I really believe if people knew me as a person and understood that I was coming from a place of love and not a place of trying to attack or put people down, [they would know that] I only want the best for people," he continued. 

Then, he turned his attention to his message, which he said reflected how he and his wife view their life together. 

"My whole career I've talked about how I'm a husband, and I'm a father before it comes to me as a kicker. That's something I've always preached," Butker said. 

"But then when I use that to talk about women and I say that they should embrace and love being wives and being mothers over their career, I think then it gets construed that I'm trying to put women down, which I'm not at all. I love women, I love my wife, and it comes from a place of love." 

That's a perfectly reasonable explanation and Butker has always talked about his family above all else. It's believable that if he had to choose between his career and his family, he would choose his family with no questions asked. 

That seemed to be the point of the speech, which is his opinion based on his own life choices. Which doesn't mean that other people have to make the same choices, but he wanted to let those students know what worked for him. 

People don't have to agree with Butker, but it's clear that he's shown a lot of bravery over the past few months. First, to even give a speech that he knew might ruffle some feathers took guts. 

And, since then, to not back down and continue to deliver the message has taken courage.