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Inside Pat McAfee's scandals from ESPN host's bizarre Caitlin Clark remark to Aaron Rodgers' bogus Jimmy Kimmel claims and that mysterious clash with a network star
Since taking his eponymous show from YouTube to ESPN in 2023, former Indianapolis Colts punter-turned-sports media savant Pat McAfee has started every broadcast with mocking disclaimer.
'The following progrum (sic) is a collection of stooges talking about happenings in the sports world,' the 'warning' message begins. 'It is meant to be comedic informative. The opinions expressed on this show do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of their peers, their boss, or ESPN. There may be some 'cuss' words because that's how humans in the real world talk. If you are a young, please seek permission before watching any further.'
The disclaimer ends with an all-important postscript – 'Don't sue us' – which is really more wishful thinking than a strict guideline.
McAfee, himself, was sued by Hall of Famer Brett Favre for defamation, only for the Packers legend to drop the case. Similarly, Jimmy Kimmel threatened to sue regular guest Aaron Rodgers after the Jets quarterback falsely linked the late-night talk show host to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on McAfee's platform.
But it was McAfee's latest controversy, in which he called WNBA star Caitlin Clark a 'white b****,' where the provocative host recognized he finally crossed a line. The following is DailyMail.com's look back on McAfee's missteps, most of which he's survived unscathed, although not for any lack of recklessness.
ESPN College GameDay host Pat McAfee talks before an Ohio State-Notre Dame game in 2023
Raised in the Pittsburgh suburbs, McAfee was a star soccer and football player in high school before receiving a scholarship to West Virginia University and being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts as a punter in the 2009 NFL Draft.
But while he earned All-Pro honors in 2014 in addition to a pair of Pro Bowl selections, McAfee has gained far more notoriety as a media personality, wrestling in the WWE, appearing on ESPN's College Game Day, and interviewing some of the biggest names in sports.
He even scored a reported $120 million deal with FanDuel. But, soon after, McAfee changed course to sign $85 million deal to sell his show to ESPN, according to the New York Post's Andrew Marchand, who put McAfee's salary at about $17 million a year
'Interesting number,' McAfee told The Post via Twitter direct message. 'I don't talk about the business side of it all, the actual numbers and such.'
CONTRACT CONTROVERSY
When ESPN made a series of layoffs following the pricy addition of McAfee's show, many online critics looked to blame the WVU product.
'I did a lot of reflecting about our show's journey while I was getting murdered on the internet today (hell yeah),' McAfee posted to Twitter in July of 2023. 'All roads lead back to how honored I am to be the leader of such a talented group and how lucky I am to be a part of this team.
'I wish we could've worked alongside a lot of the folks that got released today. Some absolute legends, that we all respect, in the sports media world were trending today for losing jobs.
'That sucks.. no matter how you slice it. We're gonna continue to control the things we can control.. try to do daily sports coverage in an entertaining and informative fashion.. and be thankful for all of the opportunities that have been earned thru a lot of hard work and commitment from the group of dudes I get to call coworkers.
Among the notable axings at ESPN were NBA color commentator Jeff Van Gundy, Monday Night Countdown host Suzy Kolber, longtime NBA analyst Jalen Rose, and former First Take host Max Kellerman.
MCAFEE BOMBS LARRY NASSAR JOKE
Soon thereafter, McAfee was ripped for a social media post he wrote in response to criticism of Michigan State's football jerseys.
'I think Nassar was in on the design team actually,' McAfee wrote.
Nassar, who worked for US Gymnastics and MSU, was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison after he admitted to molesting some of the nation's top gymnasts for years under the guise of medical treatment. He was accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of women and girls.
The 37-year-old McAfee portrayed himself as the victim on his show, claiming there was an 'all-out onslaught against' him.
'I do apologize if some people took that in a different way and spun it into their own narrative to offend a bunch of other people and kinda did that whole thing,' McAfee added.
McAfee joked that disgraced doctor Larry Nassar helped design Michigan State's uniforms
Former Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar is serving multiple life sentences
FAVRE SUES McAFEE
Prior to McAfee's move to ESPN, he was sued by Favre in February of 2023 for 'defamatory allegations' made over the NFL legend's involvement in a $77 million welfare fraud scheme in Mississippi.
Specifically, McAfee accused Favre of 'stealing from the poor people of Mississippi.'
'Every time his name gets brought up, we have to mention that he tied the hands of the poor people and took money right out of their pockets,' McAfee said about Favre, according to the defamation lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com.
'[Favre is] certainly in the middle of stealing from poor people in Mississippi right now,' McAfee allegedly said on another occasion.
Favre was not charged in the case, and he has since repaid $1.1million in improper funding, although he remains entangled in lingering financial disputes with the state over the scandal.
Favre (right) has withdrawn the defamation lawsuit against McAfee (left)
But while Favre and his native Mississippi remain at odds, the quarterback and the punter put their legal dispute to bed in May of 2023.
'As many of you know, Brett Favre sued me over statements that I made about him on this program,' McAfee began as he addressed fans in the clip.
'As I confirmed in my court papers and I repeat here, my statements, expressed in comedic style, were based solely on public information and allegations. As I have previously stated, I respect the hell out of Brett Favre the football player and his Hall of Fame career on the field and I have no personal knowledge of the case involving Brett in Mississippi.
'I am pleased to report that based solely on me again clarifying these points, now, with no settlement paid, Brett is withdrawing his suit against me.'
He added: 'I would much rather talk about sports than lawsuits so I'm glad we have all of this behind us. We now move on.'
Favre also confirmed the news, claiming he was 'happy' to have settled the dispute with the YouTube host.
'Like Pat said,' Favre wrote on X, 'he was attempting to be funny and not commenting based on any personal knowledge. We'd both much rather talk about football.'
AARON RODGERS GOES AFTER JIMMY KIMMEL, MISSES BADLY
Once a weekly guest, Rodgers has earned more than $1 million from McAfee's show, the host confirmed to the New York Post in October.
But for McAfee, the costs could have been much higher.
It was in January that the injured Jets quarterback appeared to suggest on the Pat McAfee Show that Kimmel would be included in a list of Jeffrey Epstein clients, effectively accusing the late-night host of being a sexual predator.
'There's a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are hoping that list doesn't come out,' the quarterback told McAfee and co-host AJ Hawk, Rodgers' former Packers teammate.
McAfee then joked Rodgers had been 'waiting in his wine cellar' for the release of the court documents.
'I'll tell you what, if that list comes out, I will definitely be popping some sort of bottle,' Rodgers added.
Pat McAfee guest Aaron Rodgers took a sabbatical from the show after the Kimmel comment
The incident created an uncomfortable situation for ESPN, which admitted regret over the 'dumb and factually inaccurate' remark about the ABC host (ESPN and ABC are both owned by Disney).
The comedian reacted furiously to the comments and threatened legal action, with McAfee's ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith urging Rodgers to come out and apologize.
McAfee himself addressed the outrage, claiming Rodgers was 'just s***-talking Kimmel', with whom he's had issues.
Some 177 people were linked to the disgraced financier and child molester when court files were unsealed back in January, but Kimmel was not among then.
'Dear A***hole,' Kimmel wrote to Rodgers on X. 'For the record, I've not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any 'list' other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can't seem to distinguish from reality.
'Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.'
The NFL quarterback recklessly suggested Jimmy Kimmel would be on the Jeffrey Epstein list
Fortunately for McAfee and ESPN, Rodgers walked back his statement and Kimmel declined to file a lawsuit.
'I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be... so for him to be upset about that, I get it,' Rodgers told McAfee on January 9.
'I'm not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence,' Rodgers continued. 'That's ridiculous. I'm glad, and I think we can agree on something, is that 1, those crimes are heinous and 2, I'm glad you're not on the list.'
Rodgers soon announced he would skip his weekly appearance on McAfee's show for the remainder of the NFL season.
McAFEE vs. NORBY
It was around the time of the Rodgers-Kimmel spat that McAfee's ongoing feud with a long-time ESPN executive first surfaced.
And it wasn't a media leak or a social media rumor, but rather, the host simply raised the issue on his show.
'There are some people actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN,' McAfee said on January 6. 'More specifically I believe Norby Williamson is the guy attempting to sabotage our program.'
Norby Williamson, the executive at the center of explosive allegations by Pat McAfee, left ESPN after 40 years
He then continued: 'Are we just going to combat that from a rat every single time? I don't know. But somebody tried to get ahead of our actual ratings release with wrong numbers 12 hours beforehand.
'That's a sabotage attempt, and it's been happening basically this entire season from some people who didn't necessarily love the old addition of the Pat McAfee Show to the ESPN family.'
At the time, ESPN was quick to reject McAfee's claim, insisting 'no one is more committed to and invested in ESPN's success' than Williamson.
But McAfee was convinced that Williamson had leaked information to the press, and refused to back down.
In the end, it was Williamson who left his job at ESPN.
'Almost 40 years ago in 1985, I was so very fortunate to be offered an opportunity at ESPN,' he wrote in a resignation letter in April.
'Due to the exceptional hard work, creativity and commitment of the people of ESPN, and to a much lesser extent my contributions, I'd like to think we've left our great company in a far better place than we found it.'
The note made no mention of McAfee or his allegations and, according to the New York Post, Williamson's departure did not come at the behest of the host.
Instead, it's claimed that the network decided to part ways with Williamson due to differing visions over the future of ESPN.
McAfee reportedly had an 'explosive argument' with Stephen A. Smith, but the two are OK now
McAFEE vs. SAS
And it wasn't just executives who took issue with McAfee. According to a New York Post report in March, the former punter had an 'explosive argument' with long-time pundit Stephen A. Smith, who was called a 'motherf***er' during the quarrel.
The mysterious clash has reportedly been cleared up, with Smith saying he has 'no issue' with McAfee, who now claims to have 'nothing but love for Stephen A.'
MLK DAY GAFFE
McAfee says MLK's dream nearly came true
McAfee marked Martin Luther King Day in January by claiming he's been canceled by both major American political parties in a bizarre comment about the civil rights hero's 'I Have A Dream' speech.
'Obviously it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He had a dream,' McAfee told his ESPN audience in a clumsy attempt to speak like the civil rights icon.
McAfee then made a reference to one of his recent controversies, which took place on ESPN's College GameDay ahead of the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
Long-time host Rece Davis was explaining the meaning behind an anagram, LANK, which stands for 'Let a Naysayer Know.'
Confused, McAfee said at the time that he thought the 'N' was going to stand for a different word: 'That is not what I thought… Boy. You almost lost me.'
The debate of whether McAfee was referring to a racial slur soon subsided, that is, until the following Monday, when the controversial talk show host made a bizarre claim by linking the incident to King's 'I Have A Dream' speech.
'He had a dream and I think LANK was one of the closest we've had to potentially that dream coming to fruition,' McAfee told his panel of co-hosts.
'So let's realize that as we look around and realize that we're maybe more close than we've ever been,' he continued.
'And there's an election about to take place next year where we need to remember that we are more close than we have ever been... now, as somebody who was canceled by both parties last week, both of them canceled me,' McAfee said. 'Two political parties canceled me last week and we are still alive. Let's remember we don't need the outside noise. All we need is a little bit of love.'
The alleged cancelation McAfee faced from both the Republicans and Democrats seems to be a reference to Rodgers' controversial appearances on his show.
CO-HOST'S 'RACIST' JOKE
McAfee co-host Connor Campbell joked that Nebraska basketball player Keisei Tominaga 'committed seppuku,' which is a ritualistic suicide popularized in Samurai films.
'Rumor has it that our favorite player, Keisei Tominaga, is no longer with us,' Campbell said. 'And I'm not saying he's no longer with us because the Nebraska Cornhuskers lost by 50. He actually performed seppuku on himself.
'Stabbed himself through the chest in the heart because he felt as though he brought a dishonor to himself, his family, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Now that is just what I'm hearing at the rumor mill. I have not confirmed yet with the obituary whether or not he's actually dead.'
Tominaga is alive and well, as McAfee reminded viewers at the time.
CAITLIN CLARK IS A WHAT?!?
McAfee's most recent scandal centers on his use of 'white b****' to describe WNBA rookie sensation Caitlin Clark after she absorbed a hard foul from Chicago player Chennedy Carter in a recent game.
McAfee noted how other rookies - like Angel Reese and Cameron Brink - have boosted the profile of the WNBA, but insisted the league's boom in popularity is solely owed to Clark, who has previously appeared on his show.
He brought up a number of statistics comparing the three rookies to illustrate that point but, while doing so, called Clark a 'white b****.'
Clark has been a guest on the Pat McAfee show, and the host claims the two are on good terms
The TV host posted a groveling apology to Clark, saying he has 'way too much respect for her'
McAfee has since issued an apology.
'No matter the context,' he wrote online, 'even if we're talking about race being a reason for some of the stuff happening.. I have way too much respect for her and women to put that into the universe.
'My intentions when saying it were complimentary just like the entire segment but, a lot of folks are saying that it certainly wasn't at all. That's 100% on me and for that I apologize… I have sent an apology to Caitlin as well. Everything else I said… still alllllll facts.'
McAfee says Clark told him that they are 'all good' and will 'move forward.'