Ex-NBA coach Stan Van Gundy is ‘boycotting’ Harrison Butker by not drafting the Super Bowl champ to his fantasy team
Stan Van Gundy revealed how he plans to take a stand against ‘bigoted’ Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker after he made a controversial speech earlier this month.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll go that far, he was a kicker on my fantasy team last year. I’m not taking him this year,” the first N.B.A the coach said in an episode of the Then Le Batard show with Stugotz on Thursday.
“I’m boycotting him now,” he added.
Butker, 28, faced widespread backlash for suggesting women should embrace their “calling” as “homemakers” before focusing on the LGBTQ+ community and President Biden’s position on abortion.
Elsewhere in the podcast interview, Van Gundy said the NFL player was “entitled” to his beliefs, but he strongly disagrees with his “retarded” comments.
Stan Van Gundy ‘boycotts’ Harrison Butker by not including him on his fantasy team
“I’m not taking him this year,” the former NBA coach said of the controversial Chiefs kicker
“One of the things that has irritated me for a long time is that if you disguise bigotry as part of your religious beliefs, that should be fine,” he said.
Butker’s speech at the conservative Catholic university told men to “fight against cultural emasculation,” while claiming that women are destined to be housewives with no career ambitions.
His teammate Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid broke their silence on the controversial comments earlier this week.
‘I have known [Harrison] for seven years and I judge him on the character he shows every day. And that’s a good person,” Mahomes said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The Super Bowl champion has received a lot of criticism for his ‘sexist’ graduation speech
Patrick Mahomes has been a teammate with Butker since 2018 and defended him this week
“That is someone who cares about the people around him, about his family and wants to make a good impact in society,” he continued.
Reid said: ‘Everyone comes from different areas, different religions, different races, and so we all get along, we all respect each other’s opinions.’
He continued, “It’s a great thing about America, man. And we are, as I said, just a microcosm of that and my wish is that everyone can follow that a little bit.’
Butker is a three-time Super Bowl champion and one of the most vocal voices among current NFL players opposing President Biden’s policies.