Jason Whitlock slams 'knucklehead' Travis Kelce's take on Chiefs teammate Harrison Butker's address

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Podcaster Jason Whitlock slammed Travis Kelce's response to his Kansas City Chiefs teammate Harrison Butker's controversial Benedictine College commencement speech.

The kicker faced widespread backlash as during his address at the liberal arts Catholic school he advised female graduates to embrace the role of a "homemaker," citing his wife Isabelle as an example.

Whitlock wasn't happy with the tight end's response, in which he mostly disagreed with the perspectives of his teammate, and accused the star tight end of being less "bold, honest, and masculine" than Butker during an iteration of his 'Fearless' podcast, as per Daily Mail.

Jason Whitlock labels Travis Kelce a 'knucklehead' as he calls out his response to Harrison Butker's speech

Travis weighed in on his teammate's commencement address during the Friday, May 24, episode of his 'New Heights' podcast. The tight end expressed his appreciation for Butker but explained that his own upbringing, where both his parents took part in the provider and homemaker roles, gave him a different perspective on the topic.

Whitlock, a former columnist at The Kansas City Star, criticized the tight end's response, stating, "Travis Kelce said a whole lot of nothing there because he has virtually no self-awareness. And that's not a personal attack on Travis Kelce. It's really an attack on the great wealth and fame and attention and adoration we pour on athletes."

He further labeled Travis a "knucklehead," and claimed, "If you followed his career as closely as I have over 10 to 12 years, maybe a little bit longer, he's a knucklehead. If he were not 6 ft 5, 255 lbs he would not be a rich and successful person that anybody cared about - in my view."

"He'd be a dumb jock who was short... Travis Kelce has athletic privilege, he hit the genetics lottery, now he's rich and famous, and now he gets to pretend like he has some sort of mature, sophisticated perspective on the world. He does not," expressed Whitlock. 

Travis Kelce explained how his upbringing resulted in him having a different perspective to that of Harrison Butker

In his response to Butker's address, Travis said, "When it comes down to his views and what he said at the Saint Benedict’s commencement speech, those are his. I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids." 

"And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am," stressed the Chiefs tight end. 

He added, "I grew up in a beautiful upbringing of different social classes, different religions, different races, and ethnicities in Cleveland Heights and that's why I love Cleveland Heights for what it was. It showed me a broad spectrum, a broad view of a lot of different walks of life. I appreciated every single one of those people for different reasons and I never once had to feel that I needed to judge them based off their beliefs."

"My household, my mother and my father both provided for my family and both my mother and my father made home what it was. They were homemakers and they were providers. And they were unbelievable at being present every single day of my life. I think that was a beautiful upbringing for me," pointed out Travis. 

The NFL star concluded, "Now I don't think everyone should do it the way my parents did, but I certainly, sure as hell thank my parents and love my parents for being able to provide and make home what it was. I'm not the same person without the both of them being who they were in my life."

Travis' older brother, Jason Kelce, co-host of the 'New Heights' podcast and a former Philadelphia Eagles player, expressed his disagreement with Butker but also criticized the intense backlash he received.

By Friday, over 225,000 people had signed a petition calling for Butker to be released by the Chiefs.

Internet slams Jason Whitlock over his take on Travis Kelce's response to Harrison Butker's speech

One netizen said, "And then Whitlock shut his mouth and kept it shut," and another commented, "I like Whitlock and he is usually spot on but he is going a little too hard at Kelce for this reaction. Kelce didn't say anything wrong in my opinion."

A person remarked, "Stop. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions. That’s the way they run their family. Nobody is getting hurt," while someone else stated, "Why is it Kelce or anyones responsability to disrespect someone elses opinions?Seems like Whitlock is the knucklehead in this instance."

An individual pointed out, "Kelce didn’t agree with the majority of his speech, but he pointed out some things relatable to his own upbringing. He didn’t say one negative thing about 'Harry'. He was respectful with his point of view."

"I honestly don't see anything wrong with what Travis said or Butker. People are allowed to have their own opinions and beliefs. I think it's ridiculous that people care so much about what any celebrity thinks/believes. I don't believe any of Butker's teammates needed to comment on his perspective. People have become so thin-skinned that they can't handle when someone thinks differently from them. Time to grow up," offered one more. 

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