Kansas City Chiefs’ Super-Bowl-winning kicker, Harrison Butker, is an outspoken Pro-Life Christian. Butker was recently honored as the graduation commencement speaker for the Georgia Institute of Technology and shared a powerful message urging graduates to prioritize marriage and family.
Butker told the Class of 2023 not to be laser-focused on their careers, financial success, or worldly achievements and instead understand that happiness is found in the love of marriage and family.
“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 have a lasting impact for generations to come: GET MARRIED AND START A FAMILY.“
The audience responded in cheers. Among his two Super Bowl rings, Butker pointed to his wedding ring and said, “This is the most important ring I have right here.”
Butker kicked the game-winning goal in both the 2023 AFC Championship that sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl this year and kicked the game-winning goal in the Super Bowl itself.
However, he reflected, “None of these accomplishments mean anything compared to the happiness I have found in my marriage and in starting a family.”
He told the graduates they are “smart, capable, and hardworking people” but that the world is full of smart, capable, and hardworking people who are still miserable. Our “culture is suffering” with loneliness and purposelessness.
While Butker does not claim to know the cause of this mental health crisis, he does offer an antidote: Don’t listen to society’s call to live our lives for ourselves but instead sacrifice for others, form true commitments, and prioritize relationships over our careers.
“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 acknowledged that his platform as a successful athlete has been a gift from God. With this platform, he feels a sense of responsibility to give a voice to those who are often unheard.
Last summer, Butker filmed a tv commercial in support of the “Value Them Both Amendment” in Kansas. The ballot proposition aimed to clarify that the Kansas state constitution does not contain a right to abortion.
The Chiefs kicker is one of the most vocal Christian athletes in the NFL.
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.”