Pat McAfee is not a journalist; he’s an entertainer. A punter with a personality—a rare combination in today’s NFL. Since he began building his media empire, McAfee has never followed traditional rules. He scoffs at the way things have been done for generations. A rebel who lives by his own code. Many times, several others and I have asked: when is it too much?
McAfee took to social media Monday in reaction to Jacksonville Free Press reporter Lynn Jones’ line of questioning during the Jacksonville Jaguars postgame media availability with head coach Liam Coen. There was no real question, just a compliment for the first-year coach, who led his team to a division title but fell on Wild Card Weekend. Jason Barrett dissected both sides in a fantastic piece, showing how the question/compliments met the moment—or highlighted the changing role of media today.
The former Colts punter, however, went a different route. Instead of commenting on the moment, he attacked journalism as an institution. He got personal with name-calling but named no names. While McAfee has survived ESPN through criticism of management, content, and staff, will he survive this? Does ESPN’s roster of journalists have the courage to defend their own profession?
The gun was out of the holster, and McAfee sent the bullets flying. Of course, he clarified first that his opinion doesn’t apply to all of “them,” but to a large percentage of sports journalists.
McAfee claims that many sports journalists “hate sports” and that “hate” extends to what sports are for people and society. He said these journalists have “preyed on sports” because they saw it as an easier path to “make it.”
He then credited his own success, noting his program is broadcast ten hours a week on ESPN, with zero creative say from any “journalism school puppets” calling for society to stop taking “these particular humans seriously.”
He also called these journalists “motherf***ers” and closed his tweet by thanking Lynn Jones for her journalism in praising Coen’s efforts this season.
In 1,817 characters, McAfee blasted the network that hosts his show, the guests who appear on it, and journalists themselves, boasting that he’s allowed to do whatever he wants on ESPN.
Will Adam Schefter defend this? The ESPN NFL insider, a graduate of the University of Michigan and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, wrote for several newspapers covering the NFL and served as President of the Pro Football Writers of America.
Will Schefter defend his craft, saying sports journalists don’t hate sports? Did he take “the easier path to make it”?
The same questions could apply to Brian Windhorst, Shams Charania, Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, and Stephen A. Smith, among others at ESPN. All were trained journalists covering sports. Did they take the easy path? Are they the “motherf***ers” McAfee references? More than likely, none will say a word about the comments and take the high road. Something McAfee has yet to do when facing criticism of his craft.
Blanket statements can be deceiving and can turn a small quip into a mountain of regret. McAfee is entitled to his opinion, but he’s missing the bigger picture. Every idea builds on the work that came before it.
Sports radio evolved from combining sports journalism with talk radio. Podcasts evolved from sports radio. Hot-take programs also followed that path. McAfee’s show, successful as it is, was built on the back of those who paved the lanes he now occupies.
Yet McAfee punches down, insulting the system while being a visitor in a house he never built—paid, of course, by The Walt Disney Company.
Media is different today than when I started in 2003. More people have platforms to express themselves to audiences constantly craving content. Reporters are expected to blur the lines between reporting and opinion. Insight and access are easier to gain than ever. Twenty years ago, the statement (not question) made in the Jaguars press availability would never have been allowed.
Today, anyone with a following can gain access. More podcasts cover teams than newspapers, and influencers command worldwide reach. Holding people accountable and questioning authority has given way to appreciation for effort and glossing over flaws, while looking forward.
It’s not that the “motherf***ers” will never get it, as McAfee claims. Media has just evolved to serve a changing audience. Too many people have worked too hard to reach the platforms they command. McAfee shared that grind but grew differently.
However, that doesn’t give him license to belittle those who chose paths he could not pursue. Especially the ones that without them McAfee wouldn’t have a blueprint for post-career success.
Would some journalistic background have helped McAfee before discussing an internet rumor about an Ole Miss student allegedly sleeping with her boyfriend’s father? Would a sense of journalistic integrity have prevented his false claims about an Algerian boxer’s gender?
Or is this all just entertainment, because Pat McAfee is, after all, an entertainer?
McAfee may be a rebel with a cause, but even rebels need a map. His success is built on roads others paved—roads constructed from years of reporting, questioning, and holding people accountable. In other words, the journalists he mocks and claims “hate sports.”
Mocking the system that allowed him to thrive is dangerous, no matter the applause. Punching down doesn’t make him a visionary; it reminds us whose work he stands on, and he continues to fail grasping it.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
McAfee continues to show himself as what he is, a court jester. He provides no meaningful information about anything. He’s just a tank top wearing clown who thinks what he has to say matters. And it probably does to all the people sitting in their mother’s basements watching his show. Otherwise, no one with a meaningful brain or education cares anything about what he has to say.