Sports
Serena Williams uses ESPYs platform to slam Harrison Butker: 'We don't need you'
Harrison Butker was not one of the winners Thursday night at the 2024 ESPY Awards.
But the controversial Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s name came up during the ceremony just the same.
It happened during a segment in which tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams and “Abbott Elementary” actress Quinta Brunson were speaking about the breakout year for women’s sports.
From left, Serena Williams, Quinta Brunson and Venus Williams speak onstage at the Dolby Theatre during the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday.
(Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)
“Go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports,” Venus Williams said, “because they are sports.”
Then her sister jumped in.
“Except you, Harrison Butker,” said Serena Williams, the show’s host. “We don’t need you.”
“At all,” Brunson added. “Like, ever.”
Butker was at the show — his Chiefs were nominated for the award for best team but lost to the South Carolina women’s basketball team — but the ESPN cameras did not show his reaction.
On May 11, Butker delivered the commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. Butker, a devout Christian, told the male graduates to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and congratulated the female graduates on their “amazing accomplishment.” He went on to tell the women that he “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 went on to praise his wife, Isabelle, for embracing “one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.” Butker also took shots at gender roles, abortion, President Biden and Pride month. The NFL released a statement distancing itself from his remarks.
Later that month, Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters he supported Butker’s right to express his beliefs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who won the ESPY for best athlete in men’s sports, said in May that Butker might not have “the same values I have, but at the same time I’m going to judge him by the character that he shows every single day and that’s a great person.”
Isabelle Butker did not appear to attend the ESPYs with her husband, but she was with him last month when the Chiefs players were presented Super Bowl LVIII rings at a ceremony in Kansas City.
Throughout the evening, Serena Williams delivered more lighthearted jabs toward other athletes. She roasted LeBron James, whose son Bronny is now his Lakers teammate after being drafted by his father’s team earlier this month.
“I truly hope Bronny has a long career,” Williams said. “So long that we will see his hairline recede, then miraculously unrecede, like dad.”
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who won ESPYs for best college athlete in women’s sports and record-breaking performance, also provided fodder for the show’s host.
“Caitlin, you are [like] Larry Bird in that you are an amazing player, you have ties to Indiana, and white people are really crazy about you,” Williams said.
She also had a zinger for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“But please, Harry and Meghan, try not to breathe too much tonight,” Williams said. “Because this is my night, and I don’t want to be overshadowed by the accusations that you guys are taking up too much oxygen, OK?”
In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, ESPN received some criticism for its decision to present Harry with the Pat Tillman Award for Service. More than 76,000 people signed an online petition calling for the network to reconsider. Tillman’s mother, Mary, told the Daily Mail earlier this month that “there are recipients that are far more fitting” for the award named after her late son.
During his acceptance speech, Harry paid respect to Mary Tillman.
“Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect,” he said. “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses.”
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An internet rumor swirled last week that a longtime NFL reporter had died at the age of 40.
News of Jane Slater’s supposed death on social media, but she was quick to shut it down.
An X user posted a screenshot of a post on Facebook that showed Slater in black and white with the graphic “1980-2025” saying she had died at 40. Slater, 45, was born in 1980, but the years written in the post would mean she died at either age 44 or 45.
NFL Network sideline reporter Jane Slater stands on the sidelines prior to an NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field on Dec. 26, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
“A veteran reporter who covered the Dallas Cowboys—having followed the team for over a decade—has passed away at the age of 40 after a tragic domestic violence incident, leaving behind a 5-year-old child. Her years of dedicated work, along with the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding her death, have left loyal fans stunned, devastated, and praying for her and her family,” the post read.
The user asked Slater, “did you pass away??”
Jane Slater speaks with T.Y. Hilton of the Dallas Cowboys after the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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“I don’t think so? But does this mean there is (a) glitch in the matrix? I’m gonna wrap myself in bubble wrap until NYE,” Slater joked.
If there is one thing the Facebook post got correct, it’s that Slater does mainly cover the Cowboys for the NFL Network.
NFL Network reporter Jane Slater on the sideline prior to an NFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
Prior to joining in 2016, Slater worked for ESPN and the Longhorn Network, having attended the University of Texas. She also hosted a radio show in Dallas.
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Tennis legend Venus Williams wed Danish model and actor Andrea Preti over the weekend in Florida, the new bride announced in a shared post.
An Instagram post from Vogue Magazine’s Weddings section announced the nuptials, with the message garnering more than 30,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We all love each other so much,” Williams, 45, said in the Vogue post. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”
The post was scant on details other than the event took place over five days in and around the couple’s home in Palm Beach Gardens.
An email for comment to representatives for Williams and Preti, 37, was not immediately returned.
The couple met at 2024 Milan Fashion Week and began texting shortly after, according to Vogue.
The couple eventually became engaged on Jan. 31 in Tuscany, according to Vogue. That detail was confirmed in July during what was a historic month for Williams.
The Compton native defeated 23-year-old Peyton Sterns 6-3, 6-4 in the first round action of the D.C. Open after a 16-month hiatus from singles matches.
In victory, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, trailing only fellow legend Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she won in 2004.
“Yes, my fiance is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams told the Tennis Channel’s Rennae Stubbs in a post-match interview. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. … He encouraged me to get through this, and it’s wonderful [for him] to be here. He’s never seen me play.”
Preti has written, acted and directed in a handful of films, primarily in Italy.
The wedding was the second for the couple, who also held a ceremony in Italy in September.
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As Philip Rivers has shown he could still tear up the NFL at age 44, American Olympic legend Lindsey Vonn has also proven that age is just a number.
Vonn, 41, qualified for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, Team USA announced on Tuesday. It will be the fifth Winter Olympics that she competes in.
United States’ Lindsey Vonn reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Val D’Isere, France, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
Vonn had an impressive run at the World Cup in France over the weekend. She was third in super-G, hitting a high speed of 71 mph. It was her second consecutive podium finish after she was third in downhill. It was the 142nd podium finish in her World Cup career.
“I am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “When I made the decision to return to ski racing, I always had one eye on Cortina because it’s a place that is very, very special to me. Although I can’t guarantee any outcomes, I can guarantee that I will give my absolute best every time l kick out of the starting gate. No matter how these games end up, I feel like I’ve already won.
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United States’ Lindsey Vonn celebrates on the podium after taking third place in an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Val D’Isere, France, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
“I am grateful for how the season has gone so far, but I am just getting started. See you in Cortina!”
Vonn has already put together an enviable career in skiing.
She won a gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games and two bronze medals in Pyeongchang in 2018. She’s also taken home two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the World Championships.
The Minnesota native also has 83 World Cup wins and several International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Crystal Globes.
Notably, she’s back competing for gold after being away from the sport for five years.
Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, left, winner of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Germany’s Kira Weidle Winkelmann, left, and third-placed United States’ Lindsey Vonn, in Val D’Isere, France, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
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The Winter Olympics will begin on Feb. 6 and run through Feb. 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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