Pro-life Super Bowl champion kicker Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs spoke at the Georgia Institute of Technology graduation, telling graduates to “get married and start a family.”
Butker told the Class of 2023 not to be laser-focused on their careers and making money because true happiness comes from marriage and family.
“I just happen to be blessed by God to be really good at kicking a funny shaped ball between two yellow posts,” he said. “So as someone who’s not paid to speak for a living, I’m about to pop off some hard truths.”
Two-time Catholic Super Bowl Champ @buttkicker7 STUNS graduates with most important, unexpected advice:
"In the end— no matter how much money you attain— none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose… I can offer one controversial antidote that I believe will… pic.twitter.com/NiNNKfWal9
— Danny De Urbina (@dannydeurbina) May 6, 2023
He continued, “I don’t care if you have a successful career. I don’t care if you have a big bank account or if you fly private… In the end, no matter how much money you attain, none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose.”
He told them they are “smart, capable, and hardworking people” but that the world is full of “miserable smart, capable, and hardworking people.” So many people — branded successful — are unable to attain happiness and mental health in our society is suffering, he said. Though he is unsure of the root cause of why the “culture is suffering” with loneliness, he does think he has the “controversial antidote,” saying: Get married and start a family!
He added that despite his Super Bowl wins and NFL success, “None of these accomplishments mean anything compared to the happiness I’ve found in my marriage and starting a family. My confidence as a husband and father, and yes, even as a football player, is rooted in my marriage with my wife as we leave our mark on future generations by the children we bring up in the world. How much greater of a legacy can anyone leave than that?”
Butker is openly pro-life and Catholic, appearing in a 2022 Catholic Vote commercial in support of a pro-life amendment in Kansas that ultimately failed to pass.
He told the Catholic News Agency, “I think God has definitely given me a platform. He’s given me a voice for a lot of people that aren’t able to voice their opinions. I put so much into being the best kicker I can possibly be and for whatever reason, God has allowed me to continue to be successful as a kicker. I’m so thankful for that. My success in football has given me a pedestal and I feel a responsibility to raise awareness to different issues that I think God wants me to bring to the forefront.”
