Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, speaking during a commencement speech at Benedictine College, referred to Pride Month, the events in June demonstrating inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ+ community, as an example of the “deadly sins” as he advocated for a more conservative brand of Catholicism.

“Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it,” Butker said, “but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the holy ghost to glorify him.”

Butker spoke for more than 20 minutes to students at the Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, saying he wanted the graduating class to prevent political leaders from interfering with social issues that impact their relationship with the church.

Butker, 28, criticized an Associated Press article on America’s Catholic Church, which detailed the institution’s shift “toward the old ways.” It highlighted Benedictine’s rules that “seem like precepts of a bygone age,” which include “volunteering for 3 a.m. prayers” and “pornography, premarital sex and sunbathing in swimsuits being forbidden.”

Butker said the story was an “attempt to rebuke and embarrass” places like Benedictine, and that it would be met with “pride” instead of “anger.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization, said in a Wednesday statement Butker’s speech was “inaccurate, ill-informed and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women.”

“Those with expansive platforms, especially athletes, should use their voices to uplift and expand understand and acceptance in the world,” she said. “Instead, Butker’s remarks undermine experiences not of his own and reveal him to be one who goes against his own team’s commitment to the Kansas City community, and the NFL’s standards for respect, inclusion and diversity across the league.”

Benedictine, a college with more than 2,100 full-time undergraduates as of September 2022, describes itself as a liberal arts institution aimed at “the education of men and women within a community of faith and leadership.” Butker, who called on religious leaders “to stay in their lane and lead,” praised Benedictine for embracing what he called traditional Catholic values.

“When you embrace tradition, success, worldly and spiritual, will follow,” Butker said.

In October 2014, the school ordered basketball player Jallen Messersmith to remove a Pride flag from his dorm room window.

Butker also used the speech to criticize President Joe Biden on several issues, including abortion and the coronavirus pandemic, and questioned Biden’s devotion to Catholicism. Butker also addressed gender ideologies and said a woman’s most important title is “homemaker.”

“It is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you. 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,” Butker said.

The Chiefs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the NFL isn’t in season during Pride Month, the league participates in LGBTQ+ initiatives. On the Wednesday before Super Bowl LVIII, the NFL hosted a “Night of Pride” event in partnership with GLAAD, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. The Chiefs are among the NFL teams that have a Pride selection of apparel with rainbow colors.

Kansas City is among the many North American cities that host Pride events during June, led by the KC Pride Community Alliance.

Butker is a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs. He was a seventh-round draft pick in 2017 and made 33 of 35 field goals in the 2023 season.

(Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images)

It’s been a decade since Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship. But the Northern Irishman is back at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, and will begin his pursuit of a third career Wanamaker Trophy.

But McIlroy’s personal life was thrust into the spotlight when he filed for divorce from his wife, Erica Stoll, this week. 

The four-time major winner held a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, but before he took any questions from the reporters, the moderator made it clear that McIlroy would not take any questions about his pending divorce.

“I believe you all saw the statement yesterday from Rory’s communication team specifically that he will not be making any additional comments on his private life, so thank you all for respecting his wishes,” the moderator said at the beginning of McIlroy’s media availability.

MAJOR CHAMPIONS RORY MCILROY, LUCAS GLOVER REACT TO JIMMY DUNNE’S RESIGNATION FROM PGA POLICY BOARD

The statement the moderator referred to was released by McIlroy’s camp on Tuesday. The statement noted that the pro golfer “will not be making any further comment” and “stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible.”

Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica, are shown after the singles matches on the final day of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. (Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

The media session proceeded to focus almost exclusively on McIlroy’s golf game and topics surrounding the second major of the year. At one point, McIlroy was asked about how he was doing on a personal level, but the 35-year-old replied, “I am ready to play this week.”

Rory McIlroy plays the ninth hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 9, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The press conference did go longer than expected, with McIlroy fielding questions from the podium for around 20 minutes. 

McIlroy appears to remain laser focused, even in the midst of some personal turmoil. McIlroy and Stoll have been married for the past seven years and share a 3-year-old daughter. McIlroy was spotted going through practice rounds before Wednesday’s media session, but his ring was noticeably missing.

McIlroy finished in a tie for 22nd place at the Masters Tournament in April, but he has since won the last two tournaments he has competed in: the Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship.

Last week, McIlroy told Golf.com that he tends to “play very good golf whenever I have a lot of stuff going on.”

“I’ve always been able to compartmentalize pretty well. I seem to, for whatever reason, play very good golf whenever I have a lot of stuff going on. I don’t know if it’s – I need that just to really – when I get on the course, really focus on what I’m doing out there. But yeah, it seems to work,” he said.

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Luke Schultz picked a perfect time to shoot his lowest score.

The Palisades High junior shot a four-under par 68, including an eagle on No. 18 that forced a playoff, then sank an eight-footer for birdie on the sixth playoff hole to beat Isiah Kim of Van Nuys and win the City Section individual golf championship Wednesday afternoon at Griffith Park’s Harding Course.

“I’ve hit that same putt from that exact distance a thousand times,” Schultz said. “Same old putt and the same result. My personal best was a 74 here and today I shoot 68. Can’t explain. There’s no rhyme or reason to why I shot what I did today. Putts were just falling.”

No putt was bigger than the one Schultz curved in from 15 feet on his third shot at the par-five 18th to catch clubhouse leader Kim, who ultimately had to settle for the runner-up medal for the second straight year, having carded a one-under to finish one shot behind Granada Hills’ Jahan Battu last spring.

Playing in the first group alongside Granada Hills’ Joseph Wong, who was fourth a year ago, Kim pulled off the shot off the day after driving the green on the 17th hole. He drained a 75-foot eagle putt to take a two-stroke lead after Wong had pulled even with a birdie at one-under with a birdie at 16. Kim then birdied the 18th to give himself a seemingly safe cushion.

“It was a double breaker from the back of the green that started to the right, came back left, then came back right,” Kim said. “ I had zero intention of making that putt. It was 100% about speed. I hit it a little harder than I wanted. so when it dropped I just froze and was like ‘Did that really just happen?’ ”

After bogeying the first hole, Kim parred the next five before back-to-back-to-back birdies at seven, eight and nine. Kim bogeyed No. 13 but shooting three under on the last two holes left him waiting nervously to see what Schultz would finish, several groups behind.

Several foursomes were still on the course when Kin and Schultz returned to the 18th tee box to begin a sudden death playoff. Both made short birdie putts and headed to the 17th, where Schultz had to blast out of a bad lie on his second shot with his opponent safely on the green. He eventually saved par and watched as Kim’s title-clinching putt stopped an inch short of the cup.

“There are so many par fours and par fives at my home course at Mountaingate,” Schultz said. “The key shot was that second time that we played 17 when I had a 30-yard chip that was all dirt and I told myself to choke down on the club and I pulled it off.”

They returned to No. 18 for the third playoff hole, where Schultz again scrambled after an errant drive landed right of the cart path. The fourth and fifth playoff holes were at No. 17 and on the fourth, Kim extended the match with a clutch birdie putt from 12 feet after Schultz had rolled in a 17-footer moments before.

They returned to No. 18 for the sixth extra hole and this time Kim hooked his tee shot into the weeds next to the fairway. He chipped back onto the green but it gave Schultz the slim opening he needed to win the title.

Wong finished third after birdies on two of the last three holes, but afterward he lamented a few missed opportunities. “I lost a lot of strokes with my putting, I had three three-putts and I had a birdie at 16 to get back in contention but I three-putted 17 and Isiah had that amazing eagle so that was that.”

Schultz’s marathon effort also helped Palisades secure its 23rd team crown and third in the last four years with a 10-stroke triumph over defending champion Granada Hills.