I’ve always found it a useful exercise to put myself in the shoes of others. As a writer, there are immense advantages to doing so. I am not a young woman graduating from college, but I know that if I were, I would have been fuming if the Commencement speaker was telling me that I would be better off barefoot and preggers, rather than starting a career with the degree I worked so hard for.

That’s the situation the women at  Benedictine College, a catholic school located in Texas, found themselves in. The speaker was a pro athlete named Harrison Butker, who is a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, and has been an outspoken homophobe for quite some time. Given the mood in Catholic spheres, this seemed like a perfect person to invite to inspire the next generation of graduates.

After making a swipe at gays for having the gall of having Pride Month, he went on to tell all of the ladies in the audience this gem:

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother. I’m on this stage, and able to be the man I am, because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents god has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

Butker seemed genuinely choked up by this, as though this was some great revelatory thing that required bravery. The audience cheered, though I would have loved to see the faces of the members there. To the ladies who clapped, I have to wonder what you were doing there in the first place. What is the point of a degree when it never gets puts to use?

Keep in mind the Butker can actually afford to live on one income, thanks to the fact that a professional sports team pays him millions of dollars for occasionally kicking a football. This kind of privilege is so rare that only a handful of people on earth have this luxury. The rest of us who have to work for a living often have to compromise, and two working parents is not needed to put food on the table.

The rest of his speech is the kind of unhinged religious nonsense you’ve come to expect from the religious right. The sad truth is that this mentality still resonates with a good portion of people out there who long for a perceived “simpler” time, depicted in fantasy TV shows as the model of living. This would have been the same time America was at war, segregation was at its height, and the poverty rate was around 22% (its now closer to around 9%). So you know, the good old days!