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Patrick Mahomes reacted to his teammate Harrison Butker‘s controversial graduation speech throughout a current press convention. Whereas talking to reporters on Wednesday, Could 22, the 28-year-old Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback defended Harrison, 28, as a “good particular person.”
“I’ve recognized him for seven years. I choose him by the character he exhibits each single day, and that’s a superb particular person,” Patrick stated on the Chiefs’ OTAs apply that day. “That’s somebody who cares concerning the folks round him, cares about his household and needs to make a superb affect in society.”
Patrick added that he’s solely “gonna choose [Harrison] by the character that he exhibits each single day” and famous, “We’ll proceed to maneuver on and attempt to assist construct one another as much as make ourselves higher each single day.”
“However, on the finish of the day, we’re gonna come collectively as a crew, and I feel that can assist out in addition to get rid of these distractions exterior the constructing,” the athlete defined earlier than stating that he doesn’t “agree” with all the things that Harrison stated. “If you’re within the locker room, there’s lots of people from numerous completely different areas of life, and so they have numerous completely different views on all the things. We’re not at all times going to agree, and there’s sure issues that he stated that I don’t agree with, however I perceive the particular person [who] he’s and [that] he’s making an attempt to do no matter he can to guide folks in the suitable course.”
Although Patrick doesn’t share the “identical values” as Harrison, the QB identified that a few of the social media movies of his teammate’s speech had been “taken out of context.”
“On the finish of the day, it’s about us taking the person and his values and all the things that he does each single day and judging him by that, not by one second or one speech,” Patrick concluded. “Within the constructing, you’ll be able to have these wholesome discussions and nonetheless be mates even for those who don’t agree [on] the very same issues.”
Earlier this month, Harrison delivered a controversial graduation tackle at Benedictine School, during which he derided the LGBTQIA+ neighborhood and stated the “majority” of the feminine college students had been “most enthusiastic about [their] marriage and the kids [they] will convey into this world.” Moreover, he slammed a few of President Joe Biden‘s insurance policies and ladies’s family-planning selections.
The speech sparked intensive backlash in opposition to Harrison, which has continued for a number of weeks throughout social media.