Former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Kelce , posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, responding to critics who accused him of hypocrisy over his stance on women having careers when his own wife is a homemaker. Kelce is an ESPN commentator, and elder brother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, perhaps best known for his romantic relationship with Taylor Swift . Jason Kelce could easily have stayed silent when faced with online trolls .
Instead, he spoke up, and what he said amounts to a masterclass in handling unfair criticism with thoughtfulness, emotional intelligence, and grace. It's an example for every business leader, or anyone who's ever been the target of unfair criticism. As you likely know, earlier this month, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College that infuriated many people, including some in the audience.
He told women in the class of 2024--who'd just gotten college degrees--that they'd been told "diabolical lies" about having careers, and that his wife's life only truly began when he married her and she "started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother." For good measure, he lashed out at LGBTQ people by calling Pride month "the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it." Many, many people found his comments deeply offensive-- including the Benedictine nuns whose order is a founder and sponsor of the college.
So did the NFL , which quickly disavowed Butker's comments and not.
