Pat McAfee is headed to ESPN and he has acknowledged that some of his most devoted fans are not happy about it. Charles Barkley was a guest on his show Friday and offered some advice for dealing with critics.
“Listen, I was watching you last week and you said people give you a hard time for taking your new deal. Tell them to shut the f*** up, alright?”
Barkley, who revealed that he and McAfee are friends and text regularly, said that he is happy to see the show break new ground and have success. He added that the people complaining are not thinking about the situation logically.
“I just laugh. I’m like, ‘Well, who the f*** don’t take a better job?'”.
McAfee admitted last week that he underestimated the number of listeners and fans that were upset. After it was announced that he was joining ESPN, he was inundated with messages from fans worried that he was going to let Disney change his uncensored show.
He was disappointed by the lack of faith in the show and trust in him implied. He told Charles Barkley that the kind of advice someone with the Hall of Famer’s track record was offering meant a lot.
“I appreciate you, Chuck,” he said. “Hey, I need to hear that. I need to hear that because you have been a trailblazer in my world, in the media world, obviously.”
