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Skip to main contentSkip to navigationClose dialogue1/1Next imagePrevious imageToggle captionSkip to navigationPrint subscriptionsNewsletters Sign inUSUS editionUK editionAustralia editionEurope editionInternational editionThe Guardian - Back to homeThe GuardianNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleShow moreHide expanded menuNewsView all NewsUS newsUS politicsWorld newsClimate crisisMiddle EastUkraineSoccerBusinessEnvironmentTechScienceNewslettersWellnessOpinionView all OpinionThe Guardian viewColumnistsLettersOpinion videosCartoonsSportView all SportSoccerNFLTennisMLBMLSNBAWNBANHLF1GolfCultureView all CultureFilmBooksMusicArt & designTV & radioStageClassicalGamesLifestyleView all LifestyleWellnessFashionFoodRecipesLove & sexHome & gardenHealth & fitnessFamilyTravelMoneySearch input google-search SearchSupport usPrint subscriptionsNewslettersDownload the appSearch jobsDigital ArchiveGuardian LicensingAbout UsThe Guardian appVideoPodcastsPicturesInside the GuardianGuardian WeeklyCrosswordsWordiplyCorrectionsSearch input google-search SearchSearch jobsDigital ArchiveGuardian LicensingAbout UsFootballCricketRugby unionTennisCyclingF1GolfBoxingRugby leagueRacingUS sports Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after a game last month. Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenHarrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after a game last month. Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesOpinionKansas City Chiefs This article is more than 4 months oldFirst he urged women to put family first. Now Harrison Butker’s the latest angry rich guy with a PacThis article is more than 4 months oldArwa MahdawiThe Kansas City Chiefs kicker became a hero on the right after a speech in May. Suddenly Fox News is OK with athletes in politicsFri 18 Oct 2024 07.00 EDTLast modified on Fri 18 Oct 2024 11.12 EDTShareIn a segment last week, Laura Ingraham could barely contain her glee when she announced that Harrison Butker had decided to venture into politics: a “move sure to drive the liberals crazy”.Butker, for those who aren’t aware, is a kicker with the Kansas City Chiefs – who are famous in non-sporty circles for being the team that Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, plays for. As well as being the highest-paid kicker in the NFL and the owner of a very impressive beard, Butker is what a polite person might call “traditional” and a more direct person might call “Taliban-adjacent”. He essentially thinks women should stay at home making sandwiches for their husbands and looking after their kids. In May, the athlete caused a stir when gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic private liberal arts school, espousing these views. In the same speech, Butker also denounced “dangerous gender ideologies”, called Pride month a “deadly sin”, and rattled off various other conservative talking points.Butker’s Benedictine speech caused enormous backlash but, predictably, it also made him a hero on the right. No longer was he just a guy who got paid millions of dollars to play ball, he was a fighter, valiantly opening up a new front in the never-ending culture war. Sales of his jersey surged.Now it seems Butker plans on riding his newfound notoriety all the way to the White House. Don’t worry, he hasn’t announced a campaign for president yet – though one imagines the thought has crossed his mind – but he has decided to dip his toes into the murky world of political financing.Everyone with a chip on their shoulder and some money in their pocket has a Pac these daysOver the weekend, the kicker established a political action committee called Upright Pac, aimed at getting more Christians to vote. “We’re seeing our values under attack every day. In our schools, in the media, and even from our own government,” the website explains. “But we have a chance to fight back and reclaim the traditional values that have made this country great. That’s why UPRIGHT PAC was founded.”Butker announced the Pac shortly after he officially endorsed the far-right Missouri senator Josh Hawley for re-election. Hawley is the guy who raised a fist in solidarity to protesters during January 6 and was then filmed fleeing from those protesters when they violently breached the Capitol building. He also can’t stop talking about the “collapse of American manhood” and the supposed crisis of men retreating “into the enclave of idleness and pornography and video games”.While the Upright Pac website doesn’t explicitly mention Donald Trump, Butker told Ingraham on Thursday that he would be supporting the former president because of his stance on abortion. “I think Donald Trump is the most pro-life president,” Butker said. Which might make things awkward at Kansas City Chiefs socials since Swift endorsed Kamala Harris.With only weeks to go until the election, Butker’s new Pac is not going to make much difference when it comes to getting Trump elected. But who knows what it might achieve in the future. His decision to mobilize Christian voters via a Pac speaks to a broader issue: the oversized influence of special interest groups and influential individuals in shaping US politics.Back in 2010, the US supreme court’s controversial Citizens United ruling loosened restrictions on campaign finance law and enabled corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited money on elections as long as there was no direct coordination with political candidates or parties. This paved the way for Super Pac funding vehicles: basically fancy legal frameworks which enable big (and frequently dark) money to be funnelled into campaigns. Jimmy Carter has called it legalised “bribery”.Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker rails against Pride, Biden and working women in speechRead morePacs have played an important role in this election cycle. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), for example, has spent more than $100m on federal elections so far this cycle and may have played a large part in unseating Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush – two of Congress’s most vocal critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. It also seems to have helped to sustain support for the war: a Guardian analysis published in January found that the members of Congress who were the most supportive of Israel’s campaign in Gaza during the first six weeks of the war were politicians who had benefited from donations from pro-Israel groups like Aipac.And Aipac is far from the only group toppling politicians. It’s possible Fairshake Pac, a Super Pac backed by the cryptocurrency industry, may have had a role in preventing Katie Porter from advancing in her run for US Senate in California earlier this year. Fairshake, backed by cryptocurrency industry leaders, spent millions in the primary on ads urging cryptocurrency enthusiasts to vote against Porter. Elon Musk, meanwhile, has donated roughly $75m over the last three months to his pro-Trump America Pac.In short: Butker is in crowded company. Everyone with a chip on their shoulder and some money in their pocket has a Pac these days. If you want to buy friends and influence elections, they’re a must-have.And while it’s still early days for Butker’s Pac, he certainly seems to have a lot of support. The owner of the Kansas City Chiefs said on Wednesday that he had no issue with his player’s foray into politics. Which is interesting because, when they lean to the left, athletes are often criticized for getting political. Indeed, the very same Laura Ingraham who is so thrilled about Butker’s move into politics memorably told the basketball star LeBron James to keep his political comments to himself and “shut up and dribble” back in 2018. Ingraham had taken umbrage at James discussing the challenges of being Black and a public figure in the US during an ESPN interview. “It’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” she snarked.Butker, meanwhile, gets paid $6.4m a year to play with a football. And I haven’t heard a single person on the right tell him to keep quiet and kick.Explore more on these topicsKansas City ChiefsOpinionUS sportsNFLUS politicsUS elections 2024commentShareReuse this contentMost viewedMost viewedFootballCricketRugby unionTennisCyclingF1GolfBoxingRugby leagueRacingUS sportsNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleOriginal reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morningSign up for our emailAbout usHelpComplaints & correctionsSecureDropWork for us Privacy policyCookie policyTerms & conditionsContact usAll topicsAll writersDigital newspaper archiveTax strategyFacebookYouTubeInstagramLinkedInNewslettersAdvertise with usGuardian LabsSearch jobsBack to top© 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)


Punter who doesn’t matter. Wiki him in five years. No one will care. Not exactly setting the world on fire. No one will cherish his football card. No one will ever devote any affection or attention that isn’t hinged to his paycheck. No 12 year old will feel empowered by his motivation. He could have gotten acclaim for his talent and skills but it was much easier to publicly fellate a poseur douche tyrant. He is no one’s hero. Nothing about his athletic talent And everything about his insecure pinky dick grasp for relevance  in 2024. Just another fool from Decatur with a fade barber on payroll who couldn’t jump on the Kelce bandwagon. Want to lecture me on your spiritual beliefs and traditionis custodes? Lecture me on morality? Lecture me on woman’s place in the household? How about go motherfuck yourself and then hold that thought until your belief group is done paying off all the 14 year old boys they seduced with candy and false promises. They paid out another $800 million in LA last week. Probably more payments to come. Kutcher is my butthole with a J6 proud boy beard and a false sense of importance. He’s the consequence of coital urination.