At the recent owners' powwow, NFL bigwig Roger Goodell fielded questions about Harrison Butker's graduation gabfest at Benedictine College. Butker, a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, sparked a fuss with his spiel, touching on everything from COVID to the kitchen and the "church of nice."
Butker lit the fuse by praising the role of women, suggesting that despite chasing careers, many gals are stoked about marriage and motherhood. He waxed lyrical about his own missus finding fulfillment in homemaking. Then, he veered into what he labeled the perils of the "church of nice," cautioning against silencing beliefs that clash with the buzzwords of diversity and inclusion.
He even tipped his hat to Pride Month, albeit with a twist, distinguishing between "deadly sins sort of Pride" and the kind that puts the divine first.
Meanwhile, when asked about Colin Kaepernick's anthem protests back in 2016, Goodell danced a delicate jig. He backed players' rights to speak out but stressed the importance of respecting the flag and those who defend it. It's a balancing act between patriotism and social change, he reckoned.
Now, are we reading too much into the divergent responses? Perhaps. But it does raise questions about consistency in Goodell's playbook, especially when comparing his reactions to Butker's musings and Kaepernick's activism.
In the end, maybe a bit more coherence from the commish wouldn't hurt. After all, where was this patience and understanding when Kaepernick took a stand? Some might already have an inkling.
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