The reason ESPN brought in Pat McAfee is the same reason the polarizing entertainer is reportedly at odds with his coworkers.
In a video posted to his Instagram story on Tuesday, McAfee addressed critical comments made on a post from the official “College GameDay” account—a show he hosts weekly and is known for, especially for the inspired student field-goal competition segment. The social media post featured McAfee playing to the crowd earlier this month in Eugene, Oregon, and some comments expressed disapproval, saying things like “Pat needs to go” and “wish he wasn’t on the show,” according to Awful Announcing.
In his video, the 38-year-old said that most of the hate comments come from “old white people” who, he claimed, share similar opinions with some of his producers at ESPN.
“If you think about old white people and old ESPN people, those are really the people that hate me the most at this stage of life,” McAfee said. “Now granted, there’s some other groups that certainly have threatened my life on a pretty regular basis, I’d say they hate me too. But throughout the entirety, old whites and the old ESPN people over the last like three years have really hated me. That’s who all the producers are of ‘GameDay’ too. So now… it’s been a fun run. College football is great. OK, cheers. Have a great day.”
The abrupt video suggested that tensions remain high behind the scenes. Some of McAfee’s coworkers reportedly did not take kindly to those remarks and have grown weary of what they call his “diva-like” behavior, according to Front Office Sports.
“Totally unnecessary. Grow up and talk to these people to make it better. You are not a victim,” an ESPN source told the outlet. “Everyone is bending over backwards to put you in a good position and these same people are incentivized for you to succeed.”
Despite the friction between McAfee and some colleagues, he is said to have support from top executives, including ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, president of content Burke Magnus, and Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Magnus, who admitted to Front Office Sports that McAfee “instilled some friction” within the company, still stands behind the former NFL punter.
“Pat is a creative force. He’s pushed hard to advance ‘College GameDay’ and his impact has been enormous,” Magnus said. “Since he joined ESPN, ‘GameDay’ as well as his own daily show have experienced unprecedented success. Pat is also an innovator, and when you have someone who disrupts the status quo, it’s not surprising when there’s friction and disagreement as a result. We will continue to encourage and support Pat and the entire ‘GameDay’ cast and crew as together they break new ground on one of ESPN’s most important franchises.”
McAfee previously feuded with executive editor and head of event and studio production Norby Williamson in 2024. McAfee claimed that Williamson was trying to sabotage his show by leaking rating numbers without proper context.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/24/sports/diva-like-pat-mcafee-is-in-war-with-espn-again/