Harrison Butker speech got vastly different reactions from Eddie Vedder, Bill Maher

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker set a Super Bowl record in February with a 57-yard field goal in Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime victory against the 49ers in Las Vegas.

Who could have imagined that three months later, Butker’s name would come up during a Pearl Jam concert in Las Vegas? That’s what happened Saturday as Butker’s commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, continues to reverberate.

While playing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder ripped Butker.

“You see the kicker and he doesn’t have the pads because he doesn’t tackle anybody or get tackled,” Vedder told the crowd. “But you know he started telling men don’t forget to puff up your chest and be more masculine. Don’t lose your masculinity.

“The irony was that when he was saying that, he looked like such a (wimp). There’s nothing more masculine than a strong man supporting a strong woman. Take that.”

The video is below, but here’s a warning: Vedder uttered some expletives.

While Vedder isn’t alone in speaking out against Butker’s speech, it’s not like the Chiefs kicker only has been criticized.

Butker was praised by former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz and others. And Butker’s jersey remains a hot seller.

Political pundit Bill Maher defended Butker on Friday on his show, “Real Time.”

Maher started by saying he is nothing like Butker but then quipped that the Chiefs kicker has become “history’s greatest monster.”

“He said, talking to women, ‘Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world.’ OK, that seems fairly, like, modern,” Maher said. “‘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.’ I don’t see what the big crime is, I really don’t.

“And I think this is part of the problem people have with the left, is that lots of people in this country are like this. Like he’s saying, some of you may go on to successful careers, but a lot of you are excited about this other way that people, everybody used to be. And now can’t that just be a choice too? And I feel like they feel very put upon like there’s only one way to be a good person and that’s to get an advanced degree from one of those (Jerk) factories like Harvard.”

Maher also used an expletive while defending Butker, so be warned if you watch the video.

Actress Patricia Heaton (“The Middle” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”) was surprised by the reaction to Butker’s speech.

“OK, I’m going to weigh in on Harrison Butker for one quick second. I don’t understand why everybody’s knickers are in a twist. He gave a commencement speech,” Heaton said in an Instagram video. “The audience applauded twice during the speech and gave him a standing ovation at the end, so clearly they enjoyed what he was saying.

“The guy is espousing his own opinions and Catholic doctrine. So what? It’s his opinion. He can have one. He’s allowed. He’s not a monster for stating what he believes. ...

“I am a Catholic woman who worked through my kids’ childhood, and I believe that God opened those doors for me. And thankfully, it was a schedule that allowed me to also be a full-time mom, basically. I find nothing offensive about what he said, even though my life is very different, and he might even look at my life and say that’s not the way it should be. That’s OK. That’s his opinion.”