These Kansas City Chiefs are campaigning for Kansas abortion vote. What they’re saying

The primary election is a few days away, and abortion rights are on the ballot in Kansas.

Kansans will vote on an amendment that would remove the right to abortion from the state constitution, and a couple current and former Kansas City Chiefs are running anti-abortion ads in hopes of influencing voters.

Current Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and former Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt are urging Kansans to vote “yes” on the amendment. If passed, the amendment would remove the right to abortion from Kansas’ constitution and open up the door for state lawmakers to ban the procedure.

And earlier this summer, Chiefs mascot KC Wolf attended an anti-abortion “Walk for Life” event that has gotten some attention on social media. A spokesperson for the Chiefs told The Star on Friday that KC Wolf was approved to be at the event, but that it may have been an “oversight” and “should not have passed the team’s policy on appearing at a political event.”

What’s in Harrison Butker’s ad?

Butker said in the ad that this amendment would “let Kansans decide” how to regulate abortions, “not judges or D.C. politicians,” referring to the 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that established a state right to abortion, and the federal right to abortion that ended when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

If Kansans vote “yes” and the amendment passes, lawmakers would be able to pass more restrictive abortion laws, including a total ban on the procedure without any exceptions.

Butker also claimed that without this amendment, even “barbaric, late-term abortions” would be allowed. For context, Kansas currently strictly limits abortion after 22 weeks, and zero abortions were performed after 22 weeks in Kansas in 2021. It’s possible that some existing abortion regulations could be challenged in court in the future if Kansans vote “no,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean existing regulations will be overturned.

Butker is very open about his religion, describing himself as a “Catholic Husband & Father” on his social media profiles, tweeting quotes from saints and posting photos with religious figures.

Like Butker, the Catholic Church has been an active supporter of the amendment and one of the most prominent donors for the vote-yes campaign.

Butker’s been politically active before, as he shared his reasoning for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine on the “Breakaway” podcast in March.

Butker praised the Chiefs for being open to all viewpoints and not forcing the players to do anything. Had he been told to get vaccinated, Butker said on the podcast that he would have quit.

What is Dustin Colquitt saying?

Colquitt and his wife, Christia Colquitt, spoke at a “Value Them Both Tailgate and Rosary Rally” in Overland Park on June 23. During her speech, Christia Colquitt urged listeners at the rally to campaign and vote “yes” for the amendment.

“We can be a light in a very dark world and make a big difference for this state,” the former Chiefs punter said at the rally. “We don’t want it to be a destination state for people coming across borders to do what they’re doing.”

It’s true that people from Missouri have gone to Kansas for abortions for a while, since abortions were largely inaccessible in Missouri for years prior to June’s Supreme Court decision. Kansas clinics have seen increased demand recently from women in nearby states, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the state has capacity to become a “destination” for the procedure.

This isn’t the first time Colquitt has spoken out against abortion, as he appeared in a video in 2020 to “raise his voice on behalf of the voiceless.”

“It horrifies me to think that one day the abortion industry could prey upon my daughter and commit an abortion on her without me even knowing about it,” he said in the video.

For context, parental consent is legally required for anyone under 18 to receive an abortion in the state of Kansas.

According to a Sports Illustrated report in Nov. 2020, Colquitt also donated $250 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Is KC Wolf campaigning for the amendment too?

No, not explicitly. Chiefs mascot KC Wolf was at an anti-abortion “Walk for Life” event at a crisis pregnancy center in Johnson County earlier this summer. Crisis pregnancy centers are organizations that provide counseling and services to urge people to continue a pregnancy instead of seeking an abortion.

TikTok user Abbye Putterman, username @abracadabzbra, spotted KC Wolf outside of Advice and Aid crisis pregnancy center in Overland Park on June 4 when the center hosted its annual Walk for Life event.

A spokesperson from Advice and Aid confirmed that the organization paid for KC Wolf to make an appearance at the fundraising event, which raised nearly $180,000 to support the center’s services and mission to “continue to encourage women and families facing an unplanned pregnancy to choose life.”

In the video, KC Wolf is seen taking photos with Walk for Life participants. The text on the video reads, “He wouldn’t take a picture with a pro-choice woman.”

Putterman, who made and posted the video, told The Star that KC Wolf, “refused to engage” with any abortion rights protesters who were present at the Walk for Life event.

It is common for area nonprofits to apply and pay to have the mascot attend events, but a Chiefs spokesperson told The Star that the team has a policy around political events and that KC Wolf should not have attended this one.

“This is an example of an event that focuses on a particular issue or cause,” the spokesperson said. “In this case, the event should not have passed the team’s policy on appearing at a political event. That was KC Wolf that was there, but our position is this one should not have gotten through. It happened to, but it should not have.”

The spokesperson said the mascot could have been approved to attend the event because of an “oversight in the reviewing process” or if the team didn’t have all the information needed to understand what the event was.

“It should not have passed the filters based on how we approach political events or politically-motivated events,” he said.

Have the Chiefs said anything about the Kansas abortion amendment or players’ ads?

On Friday, The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff asked Chiefs owner Clark Hunt about current players, like Butker, endorsing candidates or ballot items in election years.

Hunt said that the organization encourages its players to be civically active, and that it’s something they’re doing as individuals.

“Obviously, politics is very divisive and so there are going to be people on both sides of the issue when a player endorses somebody, but we support their efforts and encourage them to get involved,” Hunt said.

Hunt has donated to political parties in the past. From 2016 to 2020, he donated at least $53,675 to Republican groups.

Do you have other questions about the Aug. 2 Kansas amendment vote? Take a look at this FAQ guide.