Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker spoke in detail about the deadly Super Bowl parade shooting and his thoughts on gun control.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker often uses his offseason time to discuss his career and world issues.
The 2024 offseason is no different as Butker spoke with EWTN News, a Catholic-themed television network, this past week after a men's Catholic conference in Wichita, Kansas.
The 28-year-old talked about a multitude of topics but went into detail about the Super Bowl parade and rally that ended with more than 20 people shot and the death of local DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan.
"So the day started off as amazing as an Ash Wednesday [could] start," Butker said, "to the 40-day-long Lenten season could be."
"We're enjoying the bus ride going on. We go on the stage, we get acknowledged. I'm leaving the stage and you hear just a bunch of gunshots going on. You don't know what it is, you don't know if there's a terrorist attack, [if] they're trying to shoot players, what's going on, if there's a dispute."
Lopez-Galvan was wearing a Butker jersey when she was shot, which made Butker hurt even more for the family.
"It just took me aback. And talking to the family, they said how much she appreciated me standing up, being countercultural, standing up for the Catholic faith," Butker said.
"And the fact that she was the one that unfortunately got killed by this, you know, barbaric violence is so sad that there's no reason that should have happened at all. Unfortunately, it did happen at the parade."
Butker also gave Lopez-Galvan's family one of his jerseys for her to wear at the funeral. Like Butker, Lopez-Galvan was Catholic and an alumna of Bishop Meige High School.
"She was obviously a Chiefs fan, but it seems like she was a fan of me not just because I was, you know, a kicker, and maybe she, she appreciates, you know, games that come down to field goals," he said.
"But she appreciated the fact that I was a Catholic, that I was outspoken for my faith. And that is just encouragement for me to never waver in my beliefs, to be unapologetically Catholic."
The three-time Super Bowl champion was also asked about his thoughts on gun control.
"I know gun violence was a big discussion. But at the end of the day, this is degenerate violence, and it should not be occurring," he said.
"I think we need strong fathers in the home. I think that we need men that are leading, that are setting good examples, that are teaching the young men in our society that violence is not the way to handle our disputes.
"It's very unfortunate what happened. Unfortunately, many many children were injured. A beautiful young lady was killed over someone getting offended and turned into violence to handle that dispute. It's so sad. I don't think guns are the issue. I think we need fathers in the home that are being great examples for our youth."
Butker frequently puts his faith on display and is seen as an outspoken advocate for the Catholic faith.
After the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season, Butker spent a week at a monastery for silence, prayer and reflection.
He has also appeared in advertisements for the nonprofit Catholic Vote, encouraging Kansans to vote for the Value Them Both Amendment that would have restricted abortions in Kansas.
The Georgia Tech product is arguably the best kicker in Chiefs history, having set Super Bowl records in SBLVIII against the San Francisco 49ers with the longest made field goal in a SB (57 yards) and career field goals made in a Super Bowl (nine).
This past season he netted his career-best season-long field goal percentage (94%) while beginning the year making his first 23 field goals and ended the regular season hitting 33 of his 35 field goal
He often says he never planned to be a professional kicker, but balancing family time and going to Mass before games on Sundays, he said, led to his outstanding 2023 season.
"When I had this six-month-long season, I'm at the facility seven days a week, pretty much. I don't want to miss their life because I am still their father, I'm still my wife's husband, I need to be present as much as I can in their life," he said.
"So there will be this kind of negotiation with myself as I continue and hopefully God blesses me with the ability to play a long time, I'd love to be able to make that decision to not play when the time comes. But really every every season is up to Him if he wants me to do well or not and every kick is up to him if that's going through the uprights or not."
