When NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant criticized then-President Donald Trump in 2018, Fox News host Laura Ingraham said: complained that they should just “shut up and drool” instead of getting involved in political matters.
Six years later, Ingraham had no problem with Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker giving a commencement speech at Benedictine College, railing against President Joe Biden, Pride Month, the “Covid fiasco,” the pro-choice movement, IVF, surrogacy, assisted suicide, the “tyranny of diversity, equality and inclusion,” and the “growing support for degenerate cultural values and media.”
Butker, whose mother is a successful physicist, also encouraged the newly graduated women to embrace their roles as housewives and wives.
And instead of demanding that Butker, who is a Catholic like her, stick to his opinion, Ingraham praised the “courageous” football player for speaking his mind.
“But at a time when woke secularists dominate the media, the American economy, Hollywood and most universities, it takes courage to publicly testify to your Christian faith, because speaking about it can actually mean losing everything you’ve worked for,” Ingraham said.
In 2018, Ingraham responded to James and Durant’s comments by clutching her pearls – something she’s gotten pretty good at doing now.
“Do they have to talk so much?” she said. “It’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball.”
“Keep the political comments to yourself,” she scolded. “Or, as someone once said: Shut up and dribble.”
Butker’s speech sparked a petition on Change.org signed more than 150,000 times calling on the Chiefs to release him. The NFL, in turn, weighed in, saying Butker was only speaking “in his personal capacity” and his views did not reflect those of the league.
The closing speech also encouraged a lot of memes as well as some comments from other NFL teams.
To announce their schedule for the 2024-25 regular season, the Los Angeles Chargers have developed a SIMS video game in which Butker is shown Completing tasks in the kitchen.
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