Serena Williams Fans Rally Against Harrison Butker Following His Scathing Response to ‘We Don’t Need You’ ESPYs Jab . Harrison Butker responded to a comment made by tennis legend Serena Williams at the 2024 ESPY Awards, which she hosted on Thursday. Butker acknowledged Williams as a “great host” but criticized her for using the event to “disinvite” those with differing opinions.
Williams, along with her sister Venus Williams and “Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson, discussed the year in women’s sports on stage. Venus encouraged the audience to “go ahead and enjoy women’s sports, like you would any other sports, because they are sports.” Serena added, “We don’t need you,” and Brunson chimed in, “At all. Like, ever.” Butker’s immediate reaction wasn’t televised, but his feelings emerged later.
The following day, on July 12, he issued a statement to NBC News, saying, “I thought Mrs. Williams was a great host and applaud her for using her platform to express her beliefs on a variety of topics. Sports are supposed to be the great unifier, and at an event dedicated to celebrating a diverse group of men and women who have accomplished great feats, she used it as an opportunity to disinvite those with whom she disagrees from supporting fellow athletes.”
Online reactions to the moment varied widely. One comment read, “You can tell how amazing it was by how triggered the MAGA folks are.” Another fan wrote, “Serena Williams will remain in sports records forever. Harrison who?” Another comment said, “What a hypocrite! He talks about sports being a unifier, and yet he’s against women. typical coward.” A third comment read,
“Serena Williams is well known around the world, but him I don’t even know who he is?
In May, Butker faced backlash for a commencement speech at Benedictine College, where he suggested women best serve society as homemakers rather than pursuing professional aspirations. He also criticized abortion, IVF, and Pride Month. In his message to male students, he advised them to “be unapologetic in your masculinity” and to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men.” At the “Courage Under Fire Gala” in Nashville, Tennessee, later that month, he reaffirmed his beliefs, saying, “As expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most — my Catholic faith — the more polarizing I’ve become. It’s a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all.”
Before the ESPYs, comparisons were made on social media between the outrage over Butker’s remarks and Colin Kaepernick’s activism against injustices faced by Black and brown communities. One tweet read, “So Colin Kaepernick gets blacklisted from the NFL for advocating for black lives, but Harrison Butker can give a misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic speech without a peep from the NFL, and I’m supposed to believe that it’s CONSERVATIVES that are getting ‘cancelled’?
Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, began silently protesting police brutality during the 2016 NFL preseason by kneeling during the national anthem. After the season, he entered free agency and was never signed by another NFL team, ending his six-season career. In 2019, he settled a lawsuit accusing the league of conspiring to keep him off any team’s roster.
Butker was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2017 and soon traded to Kansas City. He has won three Super Bowls with the team, led by star Patrick Mahomes, in 2024, 2023, and 2020.
