Kansas
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce responds to Harrison Butker’s commencement address
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce weighed in on his teammate Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College earlier this month.
Speaking on the Friday episode of his “New Heights” podcast with brother Jason Kelce, the tight end said he does not agree with “just about any” of Butker’s views but cherishes him as a teammate.
“He’s treated family and family that I’ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness. And that’s how he treats everyone. When it comes down to his views and what he said at Saint Benedict’s commencement speech, those are his,” Kelce said. “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.”
Butker made waves in his address to graduates at Benedictine College when he suggested women should be homemakers, railed against LGBTQ+ Pride Month and took at President Joe Biden and abortion. His comments sparked widespread backlash and the NFL distanced itself from the kicker’s comments.
“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer told CBS News in a statement. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
While people online condemned his words, his jersey became one of the top-selling after the graduation.
Travis Kelce’s comments echoed those of his chief teammate and three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mahomes said that while he doesn’t agree with all the beliefs espoused by 28-year-old Butker, the Chiefs quarterback nevertheless respects his teammate’s right to make them be known.
“I’ve known Harrison for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every single day,” Mahomes said after one of the Chiefs’ voluntary practices in Kansas City, Missouri. “We’re not always going to agree, and there are certain things he said that I don’t necessarily agree with. But I know the person he is and he’s doing what he can to lead people in the right direction.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that while he “talks to Harrison all the time,” he didn’t believe he needed to discuss the commencement address with his kicker when the team reconvened in Kansas City.
“We’re a microcosm of life here,” Reid said. “We’re from some different areas. Different religions. Different races. But we get along. We all respect each others’ opinions, and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everyone to have a voice.”
During Friday’s podcast, Jason Kelce added: “There’s always going to be opinions that everybody shares that you’re going to disagree with.
“And make no mistake about it, a lot of the things he said in his commencement speech are not things that I align myself with. But, he’s giving a commencement speech at a Catholic university, and, shocker, it ended up being a very religious and Catholic speech.
“To me, I can listen to somebody talk and take great value in it, like when he’s talking about the importance of family and the importance that a great mother can make, while also acknowledging that not everybody has to be a homemaker if that’s not what they want to do in life.”
Cooler temperatures today, but we will keep a chance of thunderstorms going in south-central Kansas this morning. One or two could be strong.
Temperatures stay cooler in southern Kansas thanks to clouds and rain in the area. Warmer temps and sunshine to the north.
Another chance of severe weather will visit Kansas this weekend, with a complex of strong storms rolling across the area Saturday night.
KSN Storm Track 3 Forecast from Meteorologist Jack Maney:
Wichita:
Today: Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 80 Wind: NE 8-18
Tonight: Mostly to partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers. Lo: 62 Wind: NE/E 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 85 Wind: E/SE 5-15
Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 68 Wind: SE 5-15
Wichita Weekly
Sat: Hi: 87 Lo: 73 Partly to mostly cloudy. 50% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 92 Lo: 67 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 82 Lo: 65 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 84 Lo: 66 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 86 Lo: 68 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 88 Lo: 69 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
SOUTHWEST: Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, Greensburg, Guymon
Southwest:
Today: Partly to mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 84 Wind: NE/E 10-25
Tonight: Mostly to partly cloudy. Lo: 58 Wind: E/SE 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 85 Wind: SE 8-18
Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 62 Wind: SE 5-15
Southwest Weekly
Sat: Hi: 92 Lo: 66 Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 91 Lo: 59 Mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 82 Lo: 58 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 83 Lo: 60 Mostly to partly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 85 Lo: 61 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 89 Lo: 62 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
NORTHWEST: Colby, Goodland, Hill City, Oberlin, McCook
Northwest:
Today: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny. Hi: 86 Wind: NE/E 5-15
Tonight: Mostly clear to partly cloudy. Lo: 61 Wind: E/S 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 86 Wind: S/SE 8-18
Tomorrow Night: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 61 Wind: SE 5-15
Northwest Weekly
Sat: Hi: 90 Lo: 61 Partly to mostly cloudy. 50% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 84 Lo: 55 Mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 78 Lo: 56 Mostly to partly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 82 Lo: 58 Partly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 85 Lo: 59 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 87 Lo: 60 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
NORTHCENTRAL: Salina, Great Bend, Hays, Russell, Beloit, Osborne
North Central:
Today: Mostly to partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 83 Wind: NE 8-18
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lo: 60 Wind: NE/SE 5-15
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Hi: 86 Wind: SE 8-18
Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 66 Wind: SE 5-15
North Central Weekly
Sat: Hi: 88 Lo: 70 Partly to mostly cloudy. 70% chance of showers and storms.
Sun: Hi: 88 Lo: 63 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of showers and storms.
Mon: Hi: 81 Lo: 62 Mostly to partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
Tue: Hi: 84 Lo: 64 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Wed: Hi: 86 Lo: 66 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 88 Lo: 67 Partly cloudy. 10% chance of showers and storms.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Kansas fire department is asking people to be more careful about what they throw away.
The Mulvane Fire Department was called to a vehicle fire Wednesday afternoon. The driver of a trash truck had smelled something burning and pulled over to call 911.
When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the back of the truck. In the trash bay, a firefighter discovered a discarded laptop computer with a lithium battery that was heating up.
The department said it was able to remove the battery from the truck and flood the truck with water to cool off the trash. This is the second incident involving a lithium battery crews have responded to this month, according to Mulvane Fire.
Lithium is highly reactive, and when batteries are damaged, they can heat up uncontrollably. The reaction cascades, with the battery getting hotter and hotter until all of the lithium is consumed. In some cases, when exposed to oxygen, lithium can ignite instantly.
The fire department is urging residents to never throw computers or anything with batteries in the trash. Sedgwick County offers this free recycling guide with information on how to properly dispose of a wide variety of household goods and chemicals.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A power outage is affecting parts of the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, leaving some areas and services temporarily limited.
The Zoo announced the outage on Wednesday morning, June 17, saying the webstore and other services may be unavailable while crews work to restore power.
Evergy’s outage map shows the disruption – located near the zoo – is affecting 17 customers. The outage was first reported just before 8:50 a.m. Power is expected to be restored around 10:30 a.m.
The Zoo is asking for the public’s patience as Evergy works to resolve the issue.
The cause of the outage has not yet been identified.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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