Fake news about Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, kicker Harrison Butker taken out of context

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s recent commencement address at Benedictine College has drawn criticism for his remarks about motherhood and sparked misinformation. 

We’ve already debunked a claim that Butker said society would be better off if "women had more babies than thoughts." 

Another, in which the Kansas City Chiefs coach allegedly threatens to quit if the team drops Butker, is also fake. 

"Andy Reed says he’ll stand with Harrison Butker: ‘If they get rid of Harrison, they get rid of me,’" reads text over an image of Butker and Reid, misspelling Reid’s last name. 

"‘I’m not losing a great kicker to this whole woke thing,’" a May 18 Facebook post quoted Reid as saying. "‘Not on my watch.’" 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

This claim originated on the Facebook account of a self-described satire site. 

America’s Last Line of Defense, which describes itself as the flagship of a "network of trolley" and is labeled "satire/parody" on Facebook, posted an image of Butker and Reid on May 18 with text that said, "Andy Reed says he’ll stand with Harrison Butker: ‘If they get rid of Harrison, they get rid of me.’"

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on November 15, 2024 in a post

Mike Tyson posed with the Palestinian flag before his Nov. 15 fight against Jake Paul.

"The Chiefs have been hinting that they’re planning on releasing the kicker but head coach Andy Reed says no way," the post said. "‘I’m not losing a great kicker to this whole woke thing. Not on my watch.’"

Although there is an online petition for the Chiefs to cut Butker, we found neither evidence that the team has considered doing so nor that Reid has spoken out in Butker’s defense.

Although the "NFL distanced itself" from Harrison’s comments, the Kansas City Star reported May 17, but "the Chiefs have remained mum to this point about Butker."

We rate claims that Reid threatened to quit over Butker False.