Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker quotes Taylor Swift and completely misses the point

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is certainly a polarizing figure these days. While some found parts of his recent commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, abhorrent, there are people who agree with him. It is up to you, dear reader, to decide which side you are on.

It is also important to think in terms of context. Instead of reading snippets of his speech, you can read the entire thing here. This is not to say in any way that what Butker said was right, but it is also unfair to only read some of what he said without knowing the full context.

One can also assume that other Chiefs players will not agree with him. He likely will not be an issue in the locker room, unless he chooses to be, because players say a lot of things away from the team that do not upset the culture. That is part of being in a team: Not everyone thinks the same way about everything.

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker fumbles the meaning of Taylor Swift's "Bejeweled"

But Butker did quote Taylor Swift, whom he did not directly name, oddly. In a way, Butker devalued Swift because while he took a small portion of her song, "Bejeweled," and used the words to emphasize a point, he did not directly cite the origin. Would he have had the singer/lyricist been a man and not a human? Or is Swift simply so popular that one can assume most know the reference point? Both could also be true.

The part of the speech where Butker says, "As my teammate's girlfriend says, 'familiarity breeds contempt,'" also has nothing to do with Butker's views that women might be happier as homemakers. (To be fair, that part of his speech does appear outright sexist because a person of one gender is saying what will make another gender happy.) Butker references Swift's song when he is speaking about priests who seek the "adulation" of their congregation.

The problem with that is the meaning behind Taylor Swift's "Bejeweled" is the complete opposite. The song is about being in a relationship where the person feels undervalued and not basking in the love of others. Clearly, Butker did not do much research about the tune and simply wanted to name-drop Swift because he is teammates with Travis Kelce who is dating Swift.

Swinging back around to the locker room culture, though, one might wonder if Kelce will have an issue specifically with Butker because of his use of Swift's words and as that might relate to an interview that Butker gave in March to EWTN News In Depth where he wished Swift and Kelce happiness by saying, "I hope they get married and start a family."

Of course, one can assume that Butker's dream scenario in that situation would be for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to get married, for Kelce to keep playing football, but for Swift to quit her career and stay home and raise children. Kelce and Swift might not have the same view and might not appreciate someone suggesting what they should do with their lives.