Brooke Schwartz likened Harrison Butker's polarizing remarks to 'The Handmaid's Tale.'
The fallout surrounding Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's controversial commencement speech continues.
Brooke Schwartz, the wife of former Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz, is speaking out with her own "controversial" take on his remarks, in which he quoted Taylor Swift's "Bejeweled" lyrics while touting his own conservative Catholic beliefs and attacking what he called "dangerous gender ideologies."
"I'm going to sound controversial since Mitch was teammates with him for many years. I've stayed quiet about a lottttt of things but this is absolutely so gross and backwards to me," Brooke wrote on her Instagram Story, according to multiple reports and screenshots shared on X (formerly Twitter).
She then paraphrased a portion of Butker's address to the graduating class at Benedictine College, writing, "All my success is made possible... etc... because my wife embraced the most important title of all, homemaker."
"This is what we're telling young women graduating college?" she questioned. "That the most important thing they can become is a homemaker??? What in the Handmaid's Tale is this crap."
Brooke clarified that women should, of course, be fully supported in their own decision-making power regarding career and family.
"Telling young women this on their college graduation day, after years of hard work, that the thing they should probably most look forward to in life is becoming someone's wife....I beg your pardon?" she continued. "I value and respect whatever a woman chooses for her life. But it is NEVER, EVER a man's place to tell women what their roles are."
She then referenced Butker's choice to invoke the words of teammate Travis Kelce's girlfriend, Swift, by noting in his speech, "As my teammate's girlfriend says, 'familiarity breeds contempt.'"
"I find it odd he quoted Taylor Swift in his propaganda piece," Brooke wrote. "Is he unaware of her very public views??"
Swift, herself, has been an outspoken advocate of female and LGBTQ empowerment.
Butker began his address last weekend by attacking what he called "dangerous gender ideologies" in an apparent reference to Pride month, which has been celebrated in June since the Stonewall riots in 1969. He also criticized an article by The Associated Press highlighting a shift toward conservativism in some parts of the Catholic Church.
The 28-year-old Butker then took aim at President Joe Biden's policies, including his response to COVID-19, which has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique," he said. "The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder."
Butker later addressed the women in the audience, arguing that their "most important title" should be that of "homemaker."
"I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you," Butker said. "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 her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother."
The NFL issued a statement following public outcry over his remarks.
"Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity," Jonathan Beane, the NFL's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told ET in a statement on Wednesday. "His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger."
Mitch is a former All-Pro offensive tackle for the Chiefs, who was with the team during its Super Bowl LIV-winning season. He signed with the team in 2016 and announced his retirement in 2022 after a career-ending injury in 2020.
Butker joined the Chiefs in 2017 and remains with the team today. He has won three Super Bowls and kicked the key game-tying field goal that led to an overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers earlier this year.
After Butker's speech went viral, a newly-resurfaced clip began circulating in which Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes addressed the distant nature of their working relationship in an interview.
"Honestly, I don’t talk to Harrison all year long, man. I just let him do his thing," Mahomes said on The Pat McAfee Show in February. "But I know if I can just cross that 40, man, if I cross that 40, he's going to put it through there. I know if you saw in the game I got a little pressure, threw it short and knew Harrison was going to knock it through."
Mahomes was then asked to clarify whether the teammates ever exchanged friendly words inside the Chiefs building.
"We sit right beside each other in team meeting and I don't say one word to him," Mahomes said. "Only before the season and after the season. That's the only time I talk to him."
Mahomes hit the red carpet with wife Brittany Mahomes on Thursday in New York City at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue launch party, but the couple declined to participate in press interviews.
Meanwhile, neither Kelce nor Swift have spoken out about Butker using the pop star's song in his speech.
Butker's statements have undoubtedly struck a collective nerve as critics and supporters weigh in on social media. Even Maria Shriver chimed in with a response on Wednesday, writing, "We all have the right to voice our opinions, but let us strive to do so with dignity and respect. #abovethenoise."
It was also a topic of conversation on Thursday's episode of The View, with Whoopi Goldberg lending her support to Butker.
"Listen, I like when people say what they need to say -- he's at a Catholic College, he's a staunch Catholic," she said. "These are his beliefs and he's welcome to him. I don't have to believe them, right? I don't have to accept them. The ladies that were sitting in that audience do not have to accept them."
She compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick's controversial decision to kneel during the U.S. national anthem in a display of silent protest during the San Francisco 49ers' 2016 season.
"The same way we want respect when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours," Goldberg said. "I'm OK with him saying whatever he says and the women who are sitting there if they take his advice, good for them, they'll be happy. If they don't, good for them, they will be happy a different way. That's my attitude."
Earlier this year, Butker opened up about meeting the singer for the first time at a party.
"I wouldn't say I'm a Swiftie, but I got to meet her after our New Year's game," Butker recalled in an interview with EWTN News in Depth,. "And I rarely go out ever... I went to a party -- and this was very tame, I wore a suit and tie to the party -- but Travis showed up and Taylor was there and I got to meet her and she was just so humble and so gracious."
"I don't think she grew up a football fan, so everything to her is so cool -- especially as a kicker, she thinks that's amazing that I can kick the ball so far through the uprights," he continued. "I was a little nervous to meet Taylor Swift. I mean, it's Taylor Swift. So maybe I am a Swiftie if I was nervous to meet her. It was a great experience and I can't say enough great things about her."
Of their relationship, Butker said, "I hope they get married and start a family."
RELATED CONTENT:
