The NFL has distanced itself from Kansas City Chiefs Harrison Butker’s controversial speech which has sparked a backlash after he suggested female graduates were most looking forward to becoming wives and mothers.

During a commencement speech to graduates at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, the Super Bowl-winning kicker railed against abortion, called Pride month a “deadly sin”, and attacked lockdown measures during the COVID pandemic.

His remarks on women in the workplace went viral after he said they were told “the most diabolical lies” and he suggested one of their most important roles in life will be “homemaker”.

“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 the children you will bring into this world,” he said.

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

The 28-year-old said his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all. Homemaker.”

What has the NFL said in response?

In a statement, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said the Chiefs kicker was speaking in “his personal capacity”.

He told People magazine: “His views are not those of the NFL as an organisation. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

During the 20-minute-long speech last week, Butker – who’s made his conservative Catholic beliefs well known – also referenced lyrics from Taylor Swift – who is dating his teammate Travis Kelce – and said “familiarity breeds contempt” when discussing how Catholic priests should not become “overly familiar” with their parishioners.

When speaking about faith, he said to have pride – before adding: “Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him.”

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Star also hit out at US president

The kicker then attacked US President Joe Biden’s “delusional” stance on abortion, saying: “He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.”

A Change.org petition calling for the Chiefs to dismiss Butker for “discriminatory remarks” has attracted more than 170,000 signatures online.

But his speech was also praised by former NFL wide receiver T.J. Moe, who said on social media: “Not a word Harrison Butker says here should be remotely controversial. He’s 100% correct.

“Those trying to convince women that being assistant VP of lending & intentionally childless at age 40 is more fulfilling than making a family and home are evil.”

World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained and handcuffed by police for reportedly attempting to get around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident near a course.

Play in the second round of the US PGA Championship at Valhalla golf club in Kentucky was delayed following the incident in which a pedestrian was hit by a shuttle bus, according to Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).

The 27-year-old was apparently attempting to drive past a police officer when he was stopped.

An unverified video posted online shows one officer leading Scheffler to a patrol car while another says to a camera: “Right now, he’s going to jail, he’s going to jail and there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Period.”

ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident, said on air: “Traffic had been backed up and building.

“Scottie Scheffler tried to enter Valhalla Golf Club using a side median, at which point a police officer instructed him to stop.

“Scheffler attempted to continue to go, the police officer then attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car.

“Scheffler stopped the vehicle as he turned into Valhalla Golf Club at the entrance, about 10 to 20 yards from the point at which the police officer first told him to stop.

“At that point the police officer instructed Scheffler to get out of the car.

“He rolled down the window, the police officer grabbed his arm and started pulling at it.

“He reached inside, opened the car door, pulled Scheffler out, pushed him up against the car, immediately placed him in handcuffs.”

A statement released by LMPD earlier, said officers had been called to reports of a collision involving a male pedestrian and a bus at around 5am.

It added: “As a result, the pedestrian received fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene. The LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating.”

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A Massachusetts teenager died from a cardiac arrest after taking part in a challenge where he ate what was believed to be one of the spiciest crisps in the world.

Harris Wolobah, 14, from Worcester, died on 1 September last year after eating a Paqui chip as part of the manufacturer’s One Chip Challenge.

The challenge, popular on social media, involved eating supposedly one of the spiciest tortilla chips in the world, then bearing the heat for as long as possible before eating or drinking something else for relief.

It came individually wrapped and Paqui’s website previously said it is made from two of the hottest chilli peppers in the world – the Carolina Reaper and Scorpion.

An autopsy concluded the teenager died from a cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration”. Capsaicin is the component that gives chili peppers their heat.

But the Chief Office of the Medical Examiner also found Harris had an enlarged heart and myocardial bridging, where a major artery runs inside of the heart muscle instead of on its surface.

In a statement after the autopsy was released, Paqui said they were “deeply saddened” by the teen’s death, and “extend our condolences to his family and friends”.

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The Texas-based manufacturer added that because of the incident and others where teenagers were taken to hospital, they had stopped selling the spicy chip.

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“While the product adhered to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from shelves in September 2023, and the One Chip Challenge has been discontinued,” they said.

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Harris’s mother Lois Walobah told NBC10 Boston last year she was called to the school by a nurse and her son had told him a classmate gave him the chip, leaving him with a bad stomach ache.

They went home but later that afternoon his brother yelled Harris had passed out, she said.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.