Chiefs owner backs Harrison Butker's Republican PAC as Taylor Swift's presence divides fans politically

Kansas City Chiefs proprietor Clark Hunt said helium supports kicker Harrison Butker for creating a PAC with a Republican legislator to beforehand Christian values. 

"One of the things I speech to the players each twelvemonth astir astatine grooming campy is utilizing their level to marque a difference," Hunt said connected Wednesday. "We person players connected some sides of the governmental spectrum, some sides of immoderate arguable contented you privation to bring up. I’m not astatine each acrophobic erstwhile our players usage their level to marque a difference."

Hunt, 59, gave his enactment to the kicker aft months of contention and backlash against Butker for his blimpish beliefs. 

Butker announced his UPRIGHT PAC past play on with Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who earned the kicker's endorsement up of the wide predetermination against Democrat Lucas Kunce. Butker has besides endorsed erstwhile President Donald Trump successful the upcoming election, citing Trump's pro-life stance. 

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Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, #7, celebrates aft making the other constituent against the Chicago Bears during the archetypal fractional astatine GEHA Field astatine Arrowhead Stadium successful Kansas City, Missouri, connected Aug. 22, 2024. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

Prior to that, Butker ignited the contention implicit his beliefs erstwhile helium gave a commencement code astatine his alma mater Benedictine College successful May. The code went viral arsenic Butker suggested the pistillate graduates should beryllium much excited astir getting joined and having children than embarking connected careers. At the backstage Catholic wide arts schoolhouse successful Atchison, Kansas, Butker besides suggested that immoderate Catholic leaders were "pushing unsafe sex ideologies onto the younker of America."

"Some of you whitethorn spell connected to pb palmy careers successful the world, but I would task to conjecture that the bulk of you are astir excited astir your matrimony and the children you volition bring into this world. I tin archer you that my beauteous woman Isabelle would beryllium the first to say that her beingness genuinely started erstwhile she began surviving her vocation arsenic a woman and arsenic a mother," Butker said astatine the time. 

Shortly aft the speech, Butker's jersey income soared. His jersey was the 11th-most purchased successful the NFL from March 1 to May 31, the NFLPA said, indicating galore fans of the Chiefs and NFL arsenic a full were consenting to walk wealth to clasp Butker and his beliefs. 

However, Butker's code besides incited fierce and oftentimes affectional backlash from galore successful the mainstream media. Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins mocked Butker for being a kicker aft delivering the remarks, portion NBC's "Today" big Hoda Kotb scolded the kicker, telling him "not to talk for women." 

The criticisms against Butker were besides amplified wrong the Chiefs' ain instrumentality basal owed to the influx of caller fans that began pursuing the squad aft Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift. 

Butker was the taxable of a societal media mockery run by Swift fans, who generated a bid of memes and vitriolic insults against the kicker and his followers. This run was documented successful a Kansas City Star communicative that exposed Swift fans for calling Butker "the smallest antheral who ever lived," successful notation to 1 of Swift's songs, among different nicknames. 

HARRISON BUTKER'S FAITH-DRIVEN COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT BENEDICTINE COLLEGE: READ THE SPEECH HERE

Taylor Swift, left, and Brittany Mahomes respond during a crippled betwixt the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs astatine GEHA Field astatine Arrowhead Stadium connected Oct. 22, 2023 successful Kansas City, Missouri. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)

The Chiefs' proprietor antecedently credited Swift for bringing an influx of caller fans to the squad aft the 2023 regular season. During a CNBC interrogation successful January, Hunt said the team's following, particularly women, grew by "leaps and bounds" amid Swift's narration with Kelce. 

Many of those aforesaid fans who Swift brought successful stock the popular star's governmental values, which has manifested successful aggression toward Butker and different individuals adjacent to the squad with blimpish values. 

Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president connected Sept. 10 and has endorsed Democratic candidates dating backmost to 2018, erstwhile she endorsed Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper successful the 2018 U.S. midterm elections successful Tennessee. 

Those beliefs person not stopped Swift herself from cheering connected Butker, arsenic she was seen visibly celebrating his game-winning tract extremity erstwhile the Chiefs. 

However, her fans person inactive gone aft the kicker connected aggregate occasions connected societal media implicit the people of the year. Butker is not the lone unfortunate of this aggression either. 

When backmost Patrick Mahomes' woman Brittany Mahomes liked an Instagram station from erstwhile President Donald Trump's relationship connected Aug. 13 which laid retired the erstwhile president's 2024 argumentation agenda, Swift fans recovered retired quickly. Multiple online Swift instrumentality pages contributed to spreading screenshots of Mahomes' archetypal similar of Trump's argumentation platform, inciting backlash against Mahomes. Mahomes has had to code this backlash successful different societal media posts aggregate times since then. 

Swift's endorsement of Harris prompted a vocal effect from erstwhile President Trump, who Mahomes has been tied to supporting. Trump posted a connection to his Truth Social level that work "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT" connected Sept. 15, and successful an interrogation with "FOX & Friends" connected Sept. 11, the erstwhile president said helium "liked Mahomes overmuch better" than Swift. 

Patrick Mahomes adjacent had to reply for these exchanges during a property league connected Sept. 11, erstwhile helium said helium commended his wife's power but besides said helium would not endorse a campaigner successful the upcoming election. 

Despite showing caller enactment for Butker, Hunt whitethorn beryllium politically opposed to his kicker, based connected his donation history. 

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Kansas City Chiefs choky extremity Travis Kelce, #87, celebrates with spot kicker Harrison Butker, #7, aft Butker kicks the crippled winning tract extremity against the Cincinnati Bengals during the AFC Championship crippled astatine GEHA Field astatine Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

The Hunt household has supported a radical urging Missouri voters to cull a ballot measurement that would overturn a near-total prohibition connected termination successful the authorities done Unity Hunt, the institution that oversees the assets of the Lamar Hunt family. The Chiefs person declined to remark connected the $300,000 donation different than confirming to The Kansas City Star that the wealth was wired by Clark Hunt's half-brother, Lamar Hunt Jr., done his relationship with Unity Hunt.

Meanwhile, the NFL has distanced itself from Butker's comments altogether, issuing a connection soon aft his archetypal speech. 

"His views are not those of the NFL arsenic an organization. The NFL is steadfast successful our committedness to inclusion, which lone makes our league stronger," the connection read. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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