Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker said Friday that the recent commencement address he gave at Benedictine College was “a decision I’ve consciously made and one I do not regret at all” despite the controversy it created.

The three-time Super Bowl champion came under fire for encouraging female graduates to “embrace” their roles as homemakers and ripping President Joe Biden, a fellow Catholic, for his stance on abortion, which Butker said includes “support for the murder of innocent babies.”

Speaking at a gala Friday in Nashville, Tennessee, in his first public appearance since his controversial remarks, Butker discussed the attention his words have drawn.

“It is now, over the past few days, my beliefs or what people think I believe have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe,” Butker said. “At the outset, many people expressed a shocking level of hate. But as the days went on, even those who disagreed with my viewpoints shared their support for my freedom of religion.”

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid recently weighed in on Butker’s comments, expressing similar sentiments about how the freedoms of speech and religion are protected in the United States.

Tight end Travis Kelce, who has also gained off-field attention over the past several months, said on his podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce that Butker’s views do not reflect his own but that he still enjoys being teammates.

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“I can’t say I agree with the majority of it or just about any of it outside of just him loving his family and his kids,” Kelce said. “And I don’t think that I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life, that’s just not who I am.”

The NFL recently unveiled its 2024 schedule, including a Sept. 5 season opener in Kansas City between the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, whom they defeated in the AFC championship game in January.