Harrison Butker’s Kansas City Chiefs among the few NFL teams not to celebrate Pride Month publicly
The Kansas City Chiefs have not supported Pride in 2024. (Getty)
In news we’re disappointed but hardly surprised about, Harrison Butker’s team the Kansas City Chiefs are among a few NFL teams not celebrating Pride Month publicly.
The annual LGBTQ+ celebration kicked off on 1 June and has been noted by the likes of celebrities like Taylor Swift (who is currently dating fellow Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce), Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, and Bridgerton’s Jessica Madsen. Even companies like the National Football League in the US has made an effort to stand with LGBTQ+ fans.
However, the winning team at the Super Bowl has failed to share any posts in solidarity with the queer community.
Other American football teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans have also not spoken about the commemorative month.
Although such teams have not acknowledged Pride in a statement or on social media, many are selling Pride merchandise with their logos, courtesy of the official NFL Shop.
One month ago, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Butker laid into Pride Month during a graduation speech, calling it “sinful”. He later doubled down on his offensive comments, saying they were a reflection of his “Catholic faith”.
The NFL responded to his comments, saying they “are not those of the NFL as an organisation”.
“The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger,” it said in a statement at the time.
Justice Horn, the former chairman of the Kansas City LGBTQ Commission, also criticised the speech, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Harrison Butker doesn’t represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members.”
A petition to axe the sportsperson from the team has also garnered over 168,000 signatures.
