Mahomes Addresses Kicker's Controversy

Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday that while he doesn't agree with all the beliefs espoused by kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address, the Chiefs quarterback nevertheless respects his teammate's right to make them be known.

• "I've known Harrison for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every single day," Mahomes said after one of the Chiefs' voluntary practices in Kansas City, per the AP. "We're not always going to agree, and there are certain things he said that I don't necessarily agree with. But I know the person he is and he's doing what he can to lead people in the right direction."

• Butker delivered what has become a polarizing speech May 11 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where the three-time Super Bowl champ suggested a woman's most important title is "homemaker" and decried "dangerous gender ideologies" he said were being pushed on today's youth. Butker also assailed Pride month and President Biden's stance on abortion.
• Earlier in the day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declined to expand on the NFL's statement distancing the league from Butker's comments. "We have over 3,000 players," Goodell said as the NFL concluded its spring meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. The league previously said that the comments and "views are not those of the NFL as an organization."
• Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after Wednesday's practice that while he "talks to Harrison all the time," he didn't believe he needed to discuss the commencement address with his kicker when the team reconvened in Kansas City. "We're a microcosm of life here," Reid said. "We're from some different areas. Different religions. Different races. But we get along. We all respect each others' opinions, and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everyone to have a voice."

(More Harrison Butker stories.)