KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said that while his views didn't align with the opinions shared by kicker Harrison Butker in a controversial commencement speech, he puts his differences aside with his teammates to focus on one common goal.
Butker delivered a commencement speech on May 12 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Parts of his speech focused on human rights and women's rights garnered mixed responses.
On Friday's episode of the "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce (Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment)," Kelce expressed that he does not agree with views shared in Butker's speech.
"When it comes down to his views and what he said at the ... commencement speech, those are his. It's just not who I am," Kelce said. "I can't say I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it outside of him loving his family and his kids, and I don't think that I should judge him by his views, especially by his religious views of how to go about life."
Kelce said that instead, his views of Butker will be shaped by the seven-to-eight years that he has known his teammate.
"I cherish him as a teammate. I think Pat said it best where he is every bit of a great person and a great teammate. He's treated friends and family that I've introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness, and that's how he treats everyone," he said on the podcast.
Kelce said that his upbringing in Cleveland Heights exposed him to different social classes, religions, races and ethnicities.
"I appreciate it, every single one of those people for different reasons, and I never once had to feel like I needed to judge them based off of their beliefs," he said.
He also shared that he grew up in a home where both of his parents provided for his family and both of them "made home what it was."
"So they were homemakers and they were providers, and they were unbelievable at being present every single day of my life. That was a beautiful upbringing for me," Kelce said. "I don't think everyone should do it the way that my parents did, but I certainly ... thank my parents and love my parents for being able to provide and making sure that home was what it was."
Kelce said sharing different beliefs as your teammates is just part of the NFL experience, with so many players coming from different walks of life.
"You put your differences aside for one goal in common and that's the beauty of team sports, that's the beauty of the NFL," he said. "I'm just going to go back to my beliefs through my family and how I was brought into this world and my views are never going to be the same as the man next to me."
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