It’s time to call out some harsh truths: On Friday, CBS finally followed in the footsteps of its liberal media counterparts in trying to cast Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in a negative light. This attack was based on a speech Butker gave about the value of family. Interestingly, while ABC wasn’t interested in participating, NBC’s Today took it to another level with vicious and hypocritical criticism.
The irony here is that Butker was simply advocating for something that the co-hosts on Today regularly profess is central to their own lives. Instead of berating him, they could have acknowledged the numerous charities he has backed, including the Foster’s Outriders charity.
CBS used their “Talk of the Table” segment to falsely accuse Butker of dismissing career-oriented women. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, Butker suggested that many of the female graduates might one day view motherhood and marriage as monumental achievements in their lives.
Even as co-hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson debated whether Butker should be allowed to keep his job, Tony Dokoupil brought up a crucial point: Butker was expressing his deeply held Catholic beliefs at a Catholic college, emphasizing the importance of freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. No one seems to speak up for traditional family values these days, and so it’s refreshing to hear Butker’s perspective.
While Burleson cautioned that free speech also invites criticism, the conversation spiraled into misinterpretations and ignorance of the actual content of Butker’s speech. The focus seemed to be more on criticising Butker’s views rather than understanding them, leading to misrepresentations.
Over at NBC, Today co-host Savannah Guthrie sensationalized the “new outrage” and “uproar” over Butker’s speech, ignoring the essential message of God and parenthood, subjects she’s often discussed. Amidst the charade of misrepresentation, the only voice of reason seemed to come from the wife of the Chief’s owner, who sensibly labeled Butker’s comments as not “bigoted”.
Despite this, Liz Kreutz of NBC hurried to label Butker’s pro-family, pro-God remarks as “firebrand” triggering “growing backlash”. This coverage depicted a biased viewpoint, focusing on the outrage rather than the content of Butker’s speech.
In conclusion, it seems the media is more interested in jumping on the outrage bandwagon rather than presenting an unbiased account of the actual events. Instead of focusing on Butker’s expression of personal beliefs and his commendable support for charities, the narrative has been manipulated into a sensationalist controversy. It appears that free speech is only honored when it falls in line with certain narratives.
