Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs could use a break from controversy. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions do not know how long they will be without receiver Rashee Rice amid his legal woes, while rookie wideout Xavier Worthy recently endured a carjacking and kicker Harrison Butker is under fire after expressing misogynistic views during a college commencement speech.
Butker has been pressured to recant his fiery words or issue some sort of public apology for them, while some fans are actively hoping the Chiefs replace the three-time Super Bowl champion kicker. Butker continues to receive criticism even from outside the sports world, as the frontman for a famous rock band has become the latest figure to drag him publicly.
Eddie Vedder puts Butker on blast
Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder strongly rebuked Butker during his band’s performance in Las Vegas on Saturday, shaming the kicker in front of a sold-out crowd inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The group is touring in support of their new album, “Dark Matter,” and Vedder — long known for being socially and culturally-conscious — took the opportunity to chime in on the controversy enveloping the Chiefs.
Vedder paused the show at one point and asked the audience to applaud Pearl Jam’s opener, Deep Sea Diver — which includes a pair of female performers, most notably the lead singer Jessica Dobson.
“That’s some good men and good women making up a great band. The singer, Jessica, and the keyboard player, Patti, they must not have believed that diabolical lie that women should take pride in taking a back seat to their man,” Vedder said.
Vedder didn’t stop there, later going on to call Butker a “f***ing p***y” and calling out the kicker for espousing controversial views while playing in the most protected position a football player can have.
Vedder is unlikely to be the last public figure to hammer Butker for his commencement speech controversy, from which Mahomes and the NFL have done their best to distance themselves. The rancor against Butker only seems to be growing in the weeks before training camp.
