Exclusive:Calls to remove Harrison Butker from Chiefs after speech ‘totally un-American,’ ESPN’s Sam Ponder says

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has come under fire over the course of the week for his faith-based commencement speech at Benedictine College.

A petition surfaced calling on the Chiefs to ditch the three-time Super Bowl champion despite having a 94% field-goal conversion rate last season – the best of his career. It was just the tip of the iceberg for critics who had been irate over the speech, which included remarks on women, IVF, President Biden, COVID and abortion.

ESPN NFL broadcaster Sam Ponder called the petition to remove Butker from the Chiefs “totally un-American.”

“I think the petition that he should be fired from the Chiefs is totally un-American,” she wrote as part of a Q&A on her Instagram Stories. “Is a Catholic espousing traditionally Catholic views to a Catholic audience really that shocking?! Why can’t we just respectfully disagree?!

“Personally I agreed with a few things he said … especially that most women are more excited/proud of their families than their day jobs. I love my job and have worked my butt off (and slept in my car) to get here, but it’s not even comparable to how I feel about being a mom! ESPN will not be with me on my deathbed. When did that become offensive?

I disagreed with a few things he said, too. I do not think my life ‘began’ when I became a wife and mom. I think you can live totally fulfilled purposeful life as a single woman in the workplace! Frankly I think I could have had an equally meaningful life if I never got married/became a mother. I’m so proud to be an American where he can share his beliefs openly.”