Kansas City Chiefs star Harrison Butker has been in the crosshairs of the woke mob for his graduation speech.
Now he’s facing the most dramatic change of his NFL career.
And Harrison Butker is about to lose his job with the Chiefs for this shocking reason.
Harrison Butker is under fire for espousing his faith
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker set off a media firestorm with an innocent graduation speech to graduates of a small Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas.
Butker – a devout Catholic – gave an address that emphasized traditional Catholic teachings – like the virtue of motherhood – to graduates of Benedictine College.
The media and celebrities pounced on his speech to falsely brand him as someone who hated women.
A petition calling on the Chiefs to cut him for his “harmful” and “unacceptable” graduation speech gathered more than 250,000 signatures online.
But the Chiefs ownership, head coach Andy Reid, and stars like quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce came to his defense.
Butker has been one of the best kickers in the NFL, and his three field goals in the last Super Bowl – including a Super Bowl record 57-yard field goal – were arguably the difference in the game.
Now the Chiefs kicker could be losing his job for a reason that he never expected.
NFL brings a drastic change to the kickoff with new rule
The kickoff used to be one of the most exciting plays in the NFL with the opportunity for a big play on the return.
But in the name of player safety – to avoid the high-speed collisions – it’s been turned into a mere formality with about 75% of kickoffs resulting in touchbacks.
The NFL borrowed the kickoff rule from the XFL – a spring football league.
Now the kicker will boot the ball from his own 35-yard line while the rest of the team lines up on the opponent’s 40-yard line.
The return team has two returners deep while the return team’s blockers will set up between the 30 and 35-yard line in the new “set up zone.”
Only the kicker on the kickoff team and the two return men can move until the ball is either fielded or touches the ground.
This change is designed to prevent high-speed collisions on the return.
A touchback results in the receiving team getting the back at the 30-yard line as opposed to the current 25-yard line.
Surprise onside kicks are eliminated, and teams have to signal to the refs if they’re attempting one beforehand.
Here’s what the new NFL kickoff will look like this season: pic.twitter.com/vtR5bqGZLK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2024
Harrison Butker likely replaced under the new kickoff rule
Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub told reporters that under the new kickoff rule, the team would kick the ball away from the opposing team’s return men.
“If you watch the XFL, we watched every play,” Toub said. “I bet kickers were involved in probably at least 25 to 40% of the tackles, you know, either trying to make a guy bounce back or making the tackle itself or just missing the tackle.”
He explained that Butker can make tackles, but he doesn’t want to risk him getting hurt on the play.
The Chiefs used safety Justin Reid – a surer tackler – as a successful emergency kicker in the past.
“Justin can cover. I mean, he could kick, he can, and then he can go down there and make tackles,” Toub explained. “You know, he’s an extra guy that they’re probably not accounting for. I mean, they know that that guy can go down to tackle, but a guy like Justin is a guy that they have to worry about. You have to get him blocked and you have to give up blocking somebody else.”
Harrison Butker’s role on kickoffs could be a casualty of the NFL’s rule change.
