Mahomes, Reid give First Amendment lesson by defending Harrison Butker | Jason Williams
Ask columnist Jason Williams anything − sports or non-sports – and he’ll pick some of your questions and respond on Cincinnati.com. Email: jwilliams@enquirer.com
Message: As a diehard Bengals fan, it kills me to say it, but Harrison Butker is the real deal. He is genuinely a great person. As a practicing (attempting my hardest to be devout) Catholic, how awesome was that to hear?
Reply: It’s amazing how this overblown, social media-driven "controversy" is still being discussed nearly two weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs kicker gave the commencement speech at a small, private Catholic college in Kansas.
Butker is a devout Catholic. He talked about his traditional Catholic, family values with graduates of a Catholic school. He praised his wife.
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It’s his First Amendment right to share about his faith and values. It’s also anyone’s First Amendment right to say they disagree with what he said. As Chiefs coach Andy Reid put it: “That’s what’s so great about this country.” Preach, big fella.
But to call for Butker to be cut – or as some would say “cancelled” – from the Chiefs for sharing his beliefs is laughable. Maybe Butker's soaring jersey sales − and the women's style of his No. 7 jersey reportedly selling out − in the last few weeks is a small example that most Americans are fed up with fake, social media outrage over stuff like this.
How about Reid and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes? Super Bowl champions. First Amendment champions, too.
We need more people not being afraid to publicly defend someone who’s shared about their faith or political views. I’m talking about defending a person’s right to share about it, not necessarily agreeing with the message. That’s what Reid and Mahomes did. They used their platforms to help people understand that it’s OK to like and support people who may not have the same beliefs as you do.
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Most of us grew up – and still live – in a world outside of social media where people from different backgrounds can find common ground and get along.
Mahomes’ response to a reporter's question about Butker's speech was particularly insightful, because the quarterback shared something that’s truly beautiful about sports. Sports unites people of all races, religions and political beliefs – both inside the locker room and in the stands.
“I’ve known him for seven years, and I judge him by the character that he shows every, single day. And that’s a good person," Mahomes said. "That’s someone who cares about the people around him, cares about his family and wants to make a good impact in society."
Mahomes continued: "When you’re in the locker room, there’s a lot of people from a lot of different areas of life and they have a lot of different views on everything. We’re not always going to agree. There’s certain things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with. But I understand the person that he is, and he’s trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction.”
Talk about awesome.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mahomes, Reid give First Amendment lesson in defending Harrison Butker
