Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker shared the final text message interaction he had with conservative political activist Charlie Kirk before his shocking death.
Butker, 30, posted an exchange with Kirk from October 2024 via Instagram on Wednesday, September 10, when the political commentator sent the football player a quote from Bible verse Philippians 3:14.
“I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus 🙏,” Kirk wrote.
Butker responded, “On the mission 🙏🏻Thank you.”
“Thank you for your strong witness for Christ, Charlie,” Butker captioned the social media post. “Thank you for pursuing truth and leading your family as a husband and father. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”
Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was 31 years old.
Butker has been vocal about his religious beliefs during his NFL career, sometimes to controversial ends.
During a commencement speech at Benedictine College in May 2024, he called on women to embrace the role of “homemaker” and equated Pride Month to “deadly sin,” among other comments. (Kirk shared similar sentiments during his career.)
Butker defended the contents of his speech during Super Bowl media availability in February.
“God has given me this platform and I’m going to say what I believe to be true and what I hold close to my heart,” Butker told reporters. “Anything that comes, I’m blessed to be on the Chiefs and be in another Super Bowl.”
The Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, 40-22.
Other members of the Chiefs organization mourned Kirk’s death on Wednesday, including Tavia Hunt, the wife of team owner, Clark Hunt.
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“We are heartbroken and grieving the shocking and tragic passing of Charlie Kirk — a courageous champion of faith, freedom, and the future of America,” Tavi wrote via Instagram. “Our hearts ache for his beautiful wife, Erika, and their precious children, and we ask you to join us in covering them with prayer as they face this unimaginable loss. 💔”
Tavia and Clark’s youngest daughter, Gracie, also posted about Kirk’s death on social media.
Gracie, 26, shared a series of reposts via her Instagram Story, including one that called Kirk’s death “an act of the devil.”
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