Andy Reid on Harrison Butker: Chiefs are a 'microcosm of life'

The Chiefs head coach answered questions from reporters for the first time since Harrison Butker's speech at Benedictine College.

With the Kansas City Chiefs back at work at Arrowhead for more offseason training activities, it provided another round of press conferences for the likes of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.

For Reid, it's the first time he's taken questions since a national spotlight shone on the words of Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker—specifically upon some potentially controversial opinions shared during a commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas on May 11.

Butker shared his conservative Catholic viewpoints within his speech on a number of topics, and those became national talking points both in and out of the sports world—addressed everywhere from late-night television to The Daily Show to a White House press briefing.

You can read the full transcript of Butker's commencement address here.

As for the team's response, the Chiefs have yet to give any public statement or comment until now, when Reid took to the podium to answer reporter questions on Wednesday. Here's what Reid had to say:

On having talked to Butker about his comments.

Listen, I talk to Harrison all the time … I didn’t talk to him about this. I didn’t think we needed to. We’re a microcosm of life here. Everybody’s from different areas, different religions, different races and so we all get along. We all respect each other’s opinions and not necessarily do we go by those but we respect everybody to have a voice. That’s the good thing about America and, like I said, we’re a microcosm of that. My wish is that everybody could follow that. 

On being frustrated by having so many offseason distractions. 

We don’t want those things obviously to happen but they do happen and you work through it. What’s important is that you learn from it and you end it. That’s what you want to happen. 

On having so many women on staff at Arrowhead. what do you tell them if they come to you with a concern of players speaking ill of women?

That hasn’t happened. I don’t think he’s speaking ill to women, but he has his opinions and we all respect that. I let you guys in this room and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like, so…

On not allowing Butker’s comments to be a distraction to the team when there’s so much attention on them.

The guys are good with that. They understand. They understand how things work and everybody’s got their own opinion. That’s what’s so great about this country. You can share those things and you work through it. That’s what guys do.