Tennis phenomenon Serena Williams slammed Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker at the ESPY Awards Thursday night. Williams hosted the show, and by many accounts, Butker was in the audience.
Williams was onstage with her sister, Venus, and “Abbot Elementary” star Quinta Brunson, as the three celebrated women’s sports. “So, go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports,” said Venus.
“Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you,” Serena said as the audience laughed and applauded in response. Brunson added, “At all. Like, ever.”
One clip of this exchange has received 9.7 million views as of this writing.
“So, go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports.” – Venus Williams
“Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you.” – Serena Williams
“At all. Like, ever.” – Quinta Brunson #ESPYS pic.twitter.com/RhvxfiHUWN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 12, 2024
Harrison Butker Appears on ESPY Red Carpet
“ESPY” stands for “Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly.” The awards show is hosted by ESPN in partnership with ABC News and recognizes the top athletes and teams in sports from the preceding calendar year. Various well-known athletes and other celebrities attend the event.
The 32nd annual show streamed live Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Harrison Butker appeared on the red carpet prior to the event and was reportedly in the audience during the show, although cameras did not show his reaction to the jab.
The kicker, an outspoken Catholic, generated controversy in May for a commencement address he gave at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas. In his speech, Butker took aim at Pride Month and President Joe Biden, but the comments he made that have received the most attention from the media were those he made to the women in attendance
Butker encouraged both men and women to lean into their respective callings, exhorting men to fight “against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy.” The kicker told the women in attendance that they have been told “diabolical lies.”
“Many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career,” said Butker. “But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
