A Change.org petition calling for the release of Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker from the team and the NFL has gained significant traction following his controversial graduation speech at a private college in Kansas

petition created by Faithful America on Friday is condemning Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech as they call for him to apologize.

The conservative Catholic football player has been criticized for his May 11 speech to graduating students at Benedictine College in Kansas, in which he first took aim at LGBTQ+ communities by referring to “dangerous gender ideologies” and specifically addressed female students as he said that a woman’s “most important title” should be “homemaker.”

“It is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage and thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and children,” Butker said, in part, claiming that his own wife’s life only “truly started when she began living her vocation as wife and mother.”

In its petition from Friday, with a goal of 15,000 signatures, Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes while opposing “Christian nationalism,” wrote that the views expressed in Butker’s speech were “a distortion of our Christian faith, and would be considered harmful in any context,” adding that it was “wicked” he took the once-in-a-lifetime moment for young graduates “twisting it into yet another platform for sexism and anti-LGBTQ hatred.”

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Butker via online form and Faithful America via email for comment.

Harrison Butker
Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs is seen on February 11 in Las Vegas. A petition created by Faithful America on Friday is condemning Butker’s controversial commencement speech as they call for him to…

Faithful America added in its petition, which has 10,371 signatures as of Saturday afternoon, a call for Butker to apologize as LGBTQ+ people and women deserve “to celebrate important moments in their lives without being insulted and judged.”

“As members of the Christian organization Faithful America, we were alarmed by your sexist, anti-queer remarks at the Benedictine College graduation ceremony earlier this month. LGBTQ people and women are made in the image of God, and deserve to be able to celebrate important moments in their lives without being insulted and judged. As your siblings in Christ, we ask that you please apologize to those who were hurt by your speech now,” the petition states.

The petition comes after clips of Butker’s speech were circulated across social media, with many taking aim at the National Football League (NFL) player for using his platform to speak about other issues in his speech including abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogacy and euthanasia.

In a statement on Thursday, the NFL said the views Butker gave during his speech are not those of the football organization.

“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,” Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said in a statement released Thursday.

However, CatholicVote, a nonprofit advocacy group, has since supported Butker as the group sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, condemning the league’s statement, writing that the “ideals” Butker referred to in his speech are not controversial and remain “sacred for millions of religious believers.”

“In that speech, for which he received a standing ovation, Butker called on Catholics to live up to the high ideals of our Faith, including the defense of the dignity of every human life, the foundational role of the family, and the gift of motherhood,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch wrote on Thursday.