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Congratulations, Harrison Butker, you’re playing yourself.
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker has made a habit of making some “open your mouth, put your foot in” comments this offseason, but his most egregious delivery was a sex-degrading graduation speech that sounded like something out of an episode of “Little House on the Prairie.”
But Butker, who recently signed a record-breaking contract extension with the Chiefs, wears the scarlet letter as a badge of pride, even if it means looking like a fool.
Harrison Butker reveals famous Winston Churchill quotes he never said
“Have enemies? That’s a good thing. It means you’ve stood up for something at some point in your life,” the 29-year-old Georgia Tech alum tweeted Sunday.
He attributed this seemingly principled statement to former British Prime Minister (and violent racist!) Winston Churchill.
There is only one problem (actually there are several problems, but I’ll focus on the most glaring one).
Churchill never said this — well, maybe he repeated it somewhere in his reading — but the actual quote is from French author Victor Hugo (of Les Miserables fame).
According to Politifact, the quote comes from a passage in Hugo’s 1845 essay “Villemain.”
“Do you have enemies? It’s the story of everyone who has accomplished a great deed or come up with a new idea. It’s the thundering cloud around everything that shines. Just as light has its gnats, fame has its enemies. Don’t fret over them, despise them. Keep your mind calm as you keep your life clear.”
Well, that’s very different from what Butker wrote, and it’s not Winston Churchill’s either.
Naturally, fans jumped at the opportunity to poke fun at Butker, who continues to face criticism on a regular basis.
“Just kick the extra point,” one fan wrote.
“When no one sits next to you on the team plane,” said another.
Butker deserves credit for sticking to his guns, but every time he opens his mouth — or, in this case, tweets — he looks like a bigger and bigger fool.