Not to be missed: NFL Officials Warn Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs: If Harrison Butker plays without receiving severe punishment, the team could be disqualified.

– Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday that while he doesn’t agree with all the beliefs espoused by kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address, the Chiefs quarterback nevertheless respects his teammate’s right to make them be known.

Butker delivered what has become a polarizing speech May 11 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where the three-time Super Bowl champ said most women receiving degrees were probably most excited about getting married and having kids, and that some leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.”

Butker also assailed Pride month, an important time for the LGBTQ+ community, and President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion.

Mahomes and Chiefs Coach Andy Reid appeared in front of a room full of reporters Wednesday to speak on behalf of the kicker.

“I’ve known Harrison for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every single day,” Mahomes said. “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.”

Butker’s comments were delivered the same week Mahomes offered a toast to the future of women in sports at the TIME100 Gala.

“I’d like to raise a glass to a new era in sports, an era when the women’s game is finally getting the attention it deserves,” Mahomes said at the toast.

“It was pretty bad timing, I guess you would say. I shot that a couple weeks before,” Mahomes said of the film spot. “That’s what makes this country so great is you’re able to get as much knowledge as you can and make your own decisions.”

But, Mahomes admitted, “it gets a little divisive sometimes when you get to social media and outside the (practice) building.”

The quarterback concluded that the team would continue to come together during the off-season to continue to build on a Super Bowl winning streak and that includes eliminating distractions.

In agreement about what makes the nation great, Reid said he has not talked to Butker about his divisive comments because he did not think he needed to.

“We’re a microcosm of life here, everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races,” Reid continued. “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 great thing about America man.”

Reid concluded the statements with a plea that everyone goes by that.

Earlier in the day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declined to expand on the NFL’s statement distancing the league from Butker’s comments. The league said that the comments and “views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”

Mahomes and Reid join a growing list of celebrities that have either spoken up for or against the Chiefs kicker and his statements.