Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has helped his team win three Super Bowlssince joining them in 2017. He holds the record for kicking the longest-ever field goal in a Super Bowl (57 yards) and for scoring the most field goals in a Super Bowl (nine). However, Harrison Butker has also become infamous for making anti-LGBTQ+ comments during a graduation speech and was rumored to have previously slept with men and undergone so-called ex-gay conversion therapy. Related Heres what scientific studies on conversion therapy say Are any of these rumors true? Did Harrison Butker really undergo conversion therapy? Did he really hook up with a Georgia Tech male cheerleader? Lets take a closer look at the claims below.Did Harrison Butker mention conversion therapy in his Benedictine College graduation speech? Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today No. Harrison Butker didnt mention conversion therapy in his May 11, 2024, commencement address atBenedictine Collegein Atchison, Kansas (a school that once forced its out gay basketball playerJallen Messersmith to remove a Pride flag hung in his dorm room window). However, Butker did use the speech to praise traditional gender roles and make anti-LGBTQ+ comments.In his speech, Butker said that degenerate cultural values have negatively impacted everyone. He encouraged the schools Catholic students to speak the truth amid a society that tries to silence them. He then insinuated that Catholic government leaders, like then-President Joe Biden, of pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America. Butker also mentioned the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it. Additionally, Butker said that women have been fed diabolical lies about placing their careers over the fulfillment of marrying a man and becoming a homemaker (like his wife). He also encouraged men to fight against the cultural emasculation of men.Following widespread criticism, Butker stood by his words, saying, If it wasnt clear that the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is now. As to be expected, the more Ive talked about what I value most, which is my Catholic faith, the more polarizing Ive become. Its a decision Ive consciously made and one I do not regret at all. How did the LGBTQ+ community respond to Harrison Butkers graduation speech?Critics called the speech misogynistic and queerphobic. In a statement, Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ media watchdog group GLAAD, said, Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butkers commencement speech was not only a clear miss, it was inaccurate, ill-informed, and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people, and women.The organization also noted that gender ideologies is a term fabricated by anti-LGBTQ+ activists and noted that then-Pope Francis had taken more actions than any pope in history to support LGBTQ+ people, especially trans people, and to welcome them into the Catholic church.The LGBTQ+ sports website Outsports named Butker as its 2024 A**hole of the Year, calling the speech an awful, mean-spirited commentary that targeted the LGBTQ community with pettiness and disdain. How did the NFL respond to Harrison Butkers graduation speech?The Kansas City Chiefs head coach, Andy Reid, said, Were a microcosm of life. Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races. And so, we all get along, we all respect each others opinions and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice. [Thats the] great thing about America. my wish is that everybody could kind of follow that.The Chiefs chairman, Clark Hunt,said, One of the things I talk to the players every year about at training camp is using their platform to make a difference. We have players on both sides of the political spectrum, both sides of whatever controversial issue you want to bring up. Im not at all concerned when our players use their platform to make a difference, the Associated Press reported.Former Kansas City commissioner Justice Horn condemned the speech, writing via social media, Harrison Butker doesnt represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members. Harrison Butker doesnt represent Kansas City nor has he ever. Kansas City has always been a place that welcomes, affirms, and embraces our LGBTQ+ community members. pic.twitter.com/4vZ14SXgb6 Justice Horn (@JusticeHorn_) May 14, 2024 In a statement, Jonathan Beane, the NFLs senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told People magazine, Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. 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. Did Harrison Butker hook up with a male Georgia Tech cheerleader?Following his speech, a TikTok user named @TheSarahBader posted a video in which she shared a clip of Butkers comments on Pride Month and then asked, Didnt you hook up with that male cheerleader at Georgia Tech in college? The TikToker offered no evidence or details whatsoever to back up her claim. Butker attended Georgia Tech, starting in 2013, and graduated in 2016. During his time there, he played as a kicker for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and earned a degree in industrial engineering. But no publicly available evidence suggests that he did.However, her video went viral and so did her claim, thanks in part to two media outlets, The Blast and Yahoo! (which syndicated the article).The Blasts headline said, Bombshell Accusation Claims Harrison Butker Hooked Up With Male Cheerleader In College, though the article stated, To be clear, Harrison Butker has not commented on whether he is part of the LGBTQ+ community or not. Did Harrison Butker undergo ex-gay conversion therapy?As rumors of Harrison Butkers gay past circulated, so too did an obviously fake social media post in which Butker seemed to confirm his past homosexual behavior while adding, Ive gotten over the evil feelings I used to have.Reddit and social media users also circulated that Butker attended Republican former Vice President Mike Pences conversion therapy camp, according to a TikTok video from @broadcastboys. @broadcastboys BREAKING DOWN THE HARRISON BUTKER COMMENCEMENT CLOWN SHOW #harrisonbutker #chiefs #nfl #gender #society original sound Broadcast Boys @broadcastboys also pointed out that Butkers Instagram account (@buttkicker7) features almost no images of women but has numerous pictures of him disembarking from airplanes and jets while wearing stylish print suits, suggesting a vain self-preoccupation with fashion that some read as homoerotic. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harrison Butker (@buttkicker7) Did Harrison Butker actually attend Mike Pences conversion therapy camp?Theres no proof to suggest that Harrison Butker ever underwent conversion therapy, the widely debunked and pseudoscientific form of psychological torture that purports to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2000,when Pence was running for Congress, his campaign websites policy section said Congress should conduct an audit to see if federal money is being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. It added, Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.To people familiar with how conservative Christians talk, the words seeking to change their sexual behavior are a clear reference to conversion therapy. That, taken withPences long history of anti-LGBTQ+ statements and actions, lent further credence that Pence supports conversion therapy. But theres no evidence that Pence ever established a conversion therapy camp or that Butker ever attended it or any conversion therapy program whatsoever. Why do people think that Harrison Butker underwent conversion therapy?Its likely that the rumors about Harrison Butker and conversion therapy began as a way to insult and vilify him as a self-loathing closet case for his religiosity and anti-LGBTQ+ comments. The rumors are part of a long-running trope suspecting all homophobes of actually being closeted homosexuals.But while history is littered with numerous instances of anti-gay public figures turning out to have homosexual pasts (including numerous anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans, evangelical pastors, and ex-gay therapists), theres no proof as of yet that Harrison Butker is among them.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.