Fox News’ Laura Ingraham hasn’t always been interested in what athletes have to say about their political beliefs.
But on Thursday, she was eager to hear what brought Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker out to a campaign event for Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley ― and who he’ll be backing in the presidential race in November.
During an appearance alongside Hawley on “The Ingraham Angle” on Thursday, Butker said Hawley was the first political candidate he’s ever endorsed, and said he believes the senator is a “family man” and “a godly man.”
Ingraham asked the NFL player if his support of Hawley, a Trump ally, meant that he is also supporting the Republican presidential nominee.
“Well, I’m supporting the president that’s going to be the most pro-life president; I think Donald Trump is the most pro-life president,” the Chiefs player responded. “That’s a topic that is the most crucial topic for me. I want us to be fighting for the most vulnerable, fighting for the unborn.”
“That’s what we should prioritize, and that’s obviously what Sen. Hawley’s doing as a man of faith,” he continued.
Ingraham was slammed on social media for the line of questioning, considering her past statements.
In 2018, she infamously told NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant to “shut up and dribble,” rather than speak out against Donald Trump, after the two appeared in a video criticizing the former president. “It’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” she said of James.
Jemele Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, called out Ingraham’s inconsistency by posting a clip of the Fox News host’s interview with Butker on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “Laura Ingraham to LeBron and KD: Shut up and dribble.”
In a follow-up post responding to an X user, Hill charged that Ingraham’s change of tune has to do with the fact that James and Durant are Black, and Butker is white.
“Laura Ingraham only tells Black athletes and entertainers to shut up,” Hill wrote.
“They never try to separate sports and politics it’s just when Black people do it. Then it’s ‘stick to sports,’” another X user wrote.
Butker has gained national attention for his archconservative views in the wake of a controversial commencement speech he gave to graduates at Benedictine College in May.
During his address, he made a reference to LGBTQ+ Pride month as an example of a “deadly sin,” decried the “tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and told graduates that being a homemaker is, for women, “one of the most important titles of all.”
Butker has since doubled down on those statements, telling The Associated Press in August that he was “very intentional” with what he said, and that he stands by the remarks he made at the Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas.
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“If people don’t agree, they don’t agree, but I’m going to continue to say what I believe to be true and love everyone along the way,” he told the AP.
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