U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, right, introduces Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, left, during a campaign rally on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at Frankie Martin鈥檚 Garden in Cottleville. Butker is a three-time Super Bowl champion who has endorsed Hawley for the U.S. Senate.
Harrison Butker, the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, established a political action committee called Upright PAC this weekend, taking another step into the world of electoral politics.
Butker announced the PAC alongside an endorsement of Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on social media, saying he would use the PAC to encourage Christians to vote.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing our values under attack every day. In our schools, in the media, and even from our own government,鈥 the PAC鈥檚 website says. 鈥淏ut we have a chance to fight back and reclaim the traditional values that have made this country great. That鈥檚 why UPRIGHT PAC was founded.鈥
The PAC was established on Sept. 23, according to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission, and it was filed by the Red Curve Solutions, a Republican-associated political consulting group that helps organizations navigate federal regulations.
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Butker, a conservative Catholic, is often outspoken about his political beliefs 鈥 particularly his opposition to abortion.
Last week, he participated in three campaign rallies with Hawley, traveling from Platte County to St. Charles County and to the bootheel region. He and Hawley were interviewed on Fox News at one of the rallies.
鈥淭his is a guy who鈥檚 not to afraid to speak the truth, who鈥檚 not to afraid to say that we have got to stand on the principles that this country was founded on,鈥 Hawley said in the Fox News interview. 鈥淎nd when the left came after him in such a crazy, nutty way this last spring, he didn鈥檛 give an inch.鈥
Butker sparked controversy this spring for a speech at Benedictine College where he criticized President Joe Biden鈥檚 stance on abortion, condemned LGBTQ pride and suggested that the women graduates were most looking forward to being wives and mothers.
In August, Butker criticized former President Donald Trump for saying his administration would be 鈥済reat for women and their reproductive rights.鈥 Butker said he hoped Republican Party would return to a platform where 鈥渢here can be no compromise for defending the unborn.鈥
Butker later endorsed Trump in an interview on Fox News, calling him the 鈥渕ost pro-life president.鈥
Butker鈥檚 decision to start a political action committee as a professional athlete is rare. Instead, it鈥檚 more common to see political activity from either players unions, like the NFL Players Association, or from the major sports leagues, like the NFL, MLB and NHL.
Typically, the major sports leagues donate to both Republican and Democratic candidates, as well as the leaders in both political parties.
Butker鈥檚 PAC has not yet been required to report its donations for the 2024 election cycle.
Sen. Josh Hawley was joined by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker at a campaign rally on Oct. 10, 2024, at Frankie Martin鈥檚 Garden in Cottleville. Hawley is seeking a second term in the U.S. Senate.聽聽
