“Harrison Butker Reacts to Serena Williams’ Remarks at the ESPYs”

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is taking the high road after women’s tennis star Serena Williams scolded him during the ESPYs following comments made about women‏

during a commencement speech in May. Last week, as Williams was flanked onstage by with her sister, Venus Williams, and Quinta Brunson, the 23-time Grand Slam winner said everyone should enjoy women’s sports, “except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.”

Butker was in attendance at the event, but ESPN’s cameras did not center on his reaction.

“I thought Mrs. Williams was a great host and applaud her for using her platform to express her beliefs on a variety of topics,” Butker said in a statement after the ESPYs, per NBC Sports. “Sports are supposed to be the great unifier and at an event dedicated to celebrating a diverse group of men and women who have accomplished great feats. She used it as an opportunity to disinvite those with whom she disagrees with from supporting fellow athletes.”

Earlier this year, Butker’s commencement speech at Benedictine College went viral after he mentioned the importance of women getting married and having children in comparison to climbing the corporate ladder and following careers.

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker said during his speech. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

Those words did not go over well nationally within the sports spectrum, but Butker did not apologize, and many of his Kansas City teammates — along with Chiefs coach Andy Reid — defended him in the aftermath.

I’ve known him for seven-plus years probably, eight-plus years,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said. “And I cherish him as a teammate. I think (Patrick Mahomes) said it best: He is every bit … 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. When it comes down to his views and what he said at the …. commencement speech, those are his.

“I can’t say that I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it outside of him loving his family and his kids, (but) I don’t think I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life.”

Butker, a former three-star signee who starred at Georgia Tech, was a seventh-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2017 and has won three championships with the Chiefs. He holds the NFL record for the longest field goal made in a Super Bowl at 57 yards (LVIII).

NFL rookie minicamps are complete as many of the college football stars from last season got their first taste of the next level in preparation for the 2024 season. Six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft headline the list of rookies this offseason, including the past two Heisman Trophy winners in Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. A quarterback has won 10 of the last 20 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year awards. But, who is the early favorite heading into 2024?

Five quarterbacks are listed among the 10 players with the best odds to win the 2024-25 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, via FanDuel Sportsbook. The other five are wide receivers with no running backs in the top dozen.

Only 11 college football players that won the Heisman Trophy went on to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, an award that was established in 1967. The last was Kyler Murray, who had a standout rookie campaign with the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma the year prior.

The Buffalo Bills very likely could have a steal on their hands after landing former Florida State standout receiver Keon Coleman with the first pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft in April. Buffalo needed a new top target for star quarterback Josh Allen and Coleman certainly has the skillset to make an immediate impact in 2024. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound wideout caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season with the Seminoles, displaying an impressive vertical on jump balls. Coleman rated as a four-star recruit coming out of high school and as a transfer prior to his lone season at Florida State.

Much of the attention between the two first-round picks of the Chicago Bears is directed at No. 1 overall selection and former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams. But do not forget about former Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze, who was also a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Odunze had two highly-productive seasons with the Huskies and averaged 17.8 yards per catch as a senior in 2023. That ranked most among all FBS receivers with at least 70 catches. Williams and Odunze already seem to have a strong connection built throughout the draft process. Perhaps that carries over to a strong rookie campaign for both. Odunze rated as a four-star prospect coming out of high school in the 2020 class

Drake Maye is not guaranteed to be the starting quarterback in New England this upcoming season after the Patriots selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The former North Carolina standout faces immense pressure — as has any New England quarterback since Tom Brady left the franchise in 2020. The Patriots lack experienced talent at receiver, which could lower the ceiling for Maye should he see a significant role as a rookie. New England could opt to move slowly with Maye and focus on further development before throwing him on the field. Maye rated as a five-star prospect coming out of the 2021 recruiting class