Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Wednesday defended Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in the wake of a controversial commencement speech Butker gave at Benedictine College earlier this month.

Ive known him for seven years and I judge him by the character he shows every single day, Mahomes said , referring to Butker as a good person ... that cares about the people around him.

When youre in the locker room, theres a lot of different people from a lot of different areas in life and they have a lot of different views on everything, Mahomes continued. Theres certain things he said that I dont necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is and hes trying to do everything he can to lead people in the right direction.

In his speech at the Kansas liberal arts college, Butker expressed arch-conservative and at times bigoted views, taking aim at dangerous gender ideologies, the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion and President Joe Biden .

He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that Im sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice, Butker said of the president.

Bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues, he added. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media, all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.

In the days following the ceremony, Butkers speech received the ire of Taylor Swift fans (for dismissing her as merely tight end Travis Kelces girlfriend) and was shunned by the NFL .

Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity, Jonathan Beane, the NFLs senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said in a May 16 statement. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.