Serena Williams called out Harrison Butker while hosting the 2024 ESPYS, held July 11 in Hollywood.
During a segment about women’s sports, the tennis legend, standing alongside her sister Venus Williams and “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson, delivered a one-liner aimed directly at the Kansas City Chiefs kicker two months after he delivered what many deemed a controversial graduation speech.
“Go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports,” Venus Williams said during the segment.
Serena Williams then quipped, “Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.”
“At all. Like, ever,” Brunson added.
Serena Williams, Quinta Brunson and Venus Williams speak onstage during the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 11, 2024 in Hollywood, Calif.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Butker was in attendance at the ESPYS, but cameras did not show him reacting to the moment.
In his May 11 address to graduates at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, Butker touched on issues including birth control and abortion, and at one point described Pride Month as a “deadly sin.”
Perhaps the most headline-grabbing moment was when Butker told female graduates in attendance they’d been told “the most diabolical lies” about putting their career above their roles as mothers, wives and “homemaker[s].”
“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said at the time.
In the following days, some of Butker’s teammates — including Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — reacted to his speech, with both Mahomes and Kelce saying they disagreed with Butker’s comments but respected him as a teammate.
