Harrison Butker appears at the ESPYs just two months after his controversial speech on women

Harrison Butker came out in support for one of his Chiefs teammates at the ESPYs in LA on Thursday night, exactly two months after his controversial graduation speech at a private liberal arts college in Kansas. 

The 28-year-old, Chiefs kicker appeared on the red carpet at the ceremony without his wife, Isabelle, as he sported a creamy-colored tuxedo and pinstriped pants with black dress shoes. 

His latest outing comes after his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes was nominated for two awards, along with the Chiefs. Mahomes is up for both the ‘Best NFL Player’ and ‘Best Athlete, Men’s Sports’ awards while the Chiefs are the only NFL franchise to be named for ‘Best Team’ honors. 

Butker raised eyebrows in May for his controversial comments about abortion, US President Joe Biden and the COVID-19 pandemic during a commencement speech at Benedictine College in Hutchinson, Kansas. 

The three-time Super Bowl champion, who ranks second in NFL history for highest career field goal percentage (89.1 percent), warned female graduates in attendance about the ‘diabolical lies’ that they were told in modern-day society. He also said that he ‘would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about marriage and the children you will bring to this world.’

Harrison Butker made a solo appearance at the ESPYs red carpet in LA in a creamy tuxedo

Butker’s appearance in Los Angeles on Thursday comes after his controversial speech in May

Butker went on to add that he was ‘beyond blessed’ in his marriage and that his wife felt most fulfilled by her role as a ‘homemaker.’

In the aftermath of his speech, the NFL player received backlash from an array of high-profile figures, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife and former First Lady of California, Maria Shriver. 

Since then, Butker’s made several other public appearances this year, including at the White House, when the Biden administration received the Chiefs to celebrate the team’s 2022 Super Bowl win. 

In the wake of his comments, however, Butker, a devout Christian, said he had no regrets about expressing his beliefs and that he values his religion more than football.

‘It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all,’ he said at the Regina Caeli Academy Courage Under Fire Gala in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 24.

Butker, 28, ranks second in NFL history for highest career field goal percentage (89.1 percent)

He visited the White House along with Chiefs teammates after his controversial speech in May

The NFL distanced itself from Butker’s comments after the kicker’s graduation speech. The league said the comments and ‘views are not those of the NFL as an organization.’

For his part, Mahomes said that Butker is entitled to his beliefs, even though he doesn’t always agree with his teammate. 

Speaking about Butker on his ‘New Heights’ podcast, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he cherishes Butker as a teammate. 

‘When it comes down to his views and what he said at (the) commencement speech, those are his,’ Kelce said. ‘I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids. 

‘And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am.’