Column | I am not a fan of Pat McAfee

It is a shame the types of people we turn into our celebrities, idols and public figures. With the advent of social media, we get to see both the good and bad parts of society. Everyone gets to have a voice, for better or for worse. 

One such group that is a product of the internet age is the “frat bro” influencers, including groups like the Nelk Boys and Friday Beers. These creators thrive on content revolving around drinking, partying and sports. Posts are seemingly crude and irreverent. 

This type of content has now made it as far as national media with “The Pat McAfee Show,” which airs daily on ESPN and its related channels. 

Pat McAfee is a former NFL player, having played eight seasons as a punter for the Indianapolis Colts. A graduate of Plum High School, roughly 17 miles outside Pittsburgh, McAfee was the placekicker for West Virginia from 2005 to 2008. 

While at West Virginia, McAfee participated in the now infamous “13-9” upset, in which a 4-7 Pitt team traveled to Morgantown and defeated an undefeated West Virginia team who needed to beat Pitt to make their first National Championship in program history. 

During the game, McAfee missed two field goals from short yardage, which helped define one of the best upsets in college football history. 

However, these days, McAfee and his co-hosts spend most of their time brazenly discussing sports on “The Pat McAfee Show.” 

The show has been rife with controversies, including McAfee’s continued hosting of current NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has come under fire for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccination and its effects on male fertility on the show. 

In a segment about the 2024 NCAA Division One men’s basketball tournament, McAfee and co-host Connor Campbell made a reference to the Japanese ritualistic act of seppuku, saying that Japanese point guard Keisei Tominaga had “committed seppuku” following his Nebraska team’s 15-point loss to Texas A&M in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Just 11 games into women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark’s career, McAfee referred to her as the “one white bitch on the Indiana team.” McAfee was attempting to point out how Clark was well above her peers in the 2024 rookie class but came under fire for his comments. McAfee would later apologize, but the words had already been said. 

Other people in the world have taken notice, with tennis great Serena Williams taking an indirect dig at McAfee during her gig hosting the 2024 ESPYs. During one segment, Serena, as well as her sister Venus Williams and actor Quinta Brunson took a second to comment on the Clark situation.

“Just don’t use the b-word, You know who you are,” Serena Williams said.

Regardless of intent, it is unfathomable that we make content like this as popular as it is. Having a show on national sports media that has shown to have sexist, racist and other inflammatory elements is a stain on sports media as a whole. 

It is important for athletes to have a voice. Throughout the history of sports, athletes have spoken up for what they believe in. Now, with their largest audience ever, athletes have been able to speak out for things such as civil rights and equal pay. What McAfee does with the platform he is given is the opposite. 

There are so many things to write, talk about and create content about within the world of sports. You can talk about gameplay, press conferences and athletes’ favorite places to eat. There is absolutely no reason that a show that promotes such negative things about athletes, most of which are out of their control, should be on national airwaves.