5 minSports
Patriots' TreVeyon Henderson Defends Family in Custody Dispute Over Gender Identity
New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson publicly defended a Massachusetts family fighting the state's child welfare agency over their daughter's gender transition, citing his Christian faith and drawing millions of views to his social media post.
New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson is standing by his decision to publicly support a Massachusetts family locked in a custody battle with the state over their teenage daughter's gender transition, telling reporters the parents have a God-given right to raise their child according to their faith.
Henderson, a devout Christian, shared a video clip on social media earlier this week along with a Scripture quotation, writing that the parents «want to honor our Lord and lead their daughter into the truth.» The post had drawn 3.5 million views as of Thursday evening, according to the running back, who spoke with reporters in Foxboro.
The case involves Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, who have been fighting the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families to regain custody of their daughter since charges were filed against them in January 2025. The parents claim the state took custody after they refused to consent to medical procedures intended to transition their daughter to a male.
When questioned Thursday about the post, Henderson said he was motivated by what he described as the state taking a child because the parents declined to affirm the daughter as a boy. He also said he had heard the school attempted to transition the child without parental permission.
«I don't believe that's right,» Henderson said. «I believe the family, being a Catholic family and having certain morals that they go by and live by, they have the God-given right to raise up their kid, to know the Lord, to honor the Lord.»
He added that from what he had read and heard, the family «did right by not affirming their daughter as a boy, but choosing to affirm her the way that God created her to be as a girl.»
Reporters pressed Henderson on local reports alleging the child's father pulled his daughter's hair and threatened to kill her. The allegations led to no criminal findings, and all charges are scheduled to be dropped if the father stays away from the girl.
Henderson held firm, saying the accusations do not establish guilt. «It doesn't mean that he was guilty of those charges,» he said. «It's just accusations. Just as the same way people make accusations against me, it doesn't mean that those accusations are true.»
He added that he believes in the principle of innocent until proven guilty, and that if the father were guilty, «then that's on me, because I didn't know all of that.» But he said if the allegations are unfounded, it would not be right to use them as a reason to take the daughter away.
The Boston Herald has reported that the Kutzko family's attorney, Vernadette Broyles, said a restraining order stands against the parents after an unidentified adult assisted the child in obtaining the order following nearly a year in state custody.
Henderson said his perspective on the world has changed and that he now tries to view it through a Biblical lens. «I'm not here to just play football,» he said. «I think I have it in my bio that football is what I do, but a child of God is who I am.»
He said he will continue to honor God above all else, regardless of the cost. «With this game or without this game, with money or without money, as long as I have Jesus, I got everything that I need,» Henderson said. «And so my heart is fulfilled.»
The running back's comments came as he also fielded questions about his status for Sunday's home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, though the custody dispute dominated the exchange. His social media post has resonated widely, amplifying a case that has drawn attention in Massachusetts and beyond.
The Kutzko case remains before the courts, with the family continuing its effort to regain custody. Henderson's public advocacy adds a prominent sports voice to a debate over parental rights, medical consent, and the role of state agencies in decisions involving minors — an issue that has become increasingly contentious across the country.
