“With great power comes great responsibility.” The immortal words that Uncle Ben told a young Peter Parker as advice on how to approach life. When you work so hard for so long, you tend to be awarded opportunities for being a good soldier. With opportunities come more responsibility, a changed focus, and a pivot in your approach with your management team. Pat McAfee is, without a doubt, the most interesting and polarizing singular person in sports media, and he’s continuing to learn from the wisdom of Uncle Ben.
McAfee’s persona has never changed from his former football career to his growing sports media platform. He’s the renegade, the outsider, the enigma—all of which he wants to be. The daily preaching at the close of his show, telling someone you love or a friend something nice to change their life, has become gospel for his followers.
For the brash and outspoken façade that McAfee presents—believing in fun, sports, and football—there continue to be underlying signs of weakness. Time and again, McAfee takes aim at his critics, whether external or internal, not hesitating to unleash his personal feelings about his doubters because there has yet to be a cost. His latest shot should provide reflection, but will it?
Success allows space; revenue grants rope. McAfee has achieved both and has been awarded the permissions he’s been given by executives at ESPN. He draws attention, social engagement, and articles and columns to be written and podcasts to be recorded mentioning his name.
Maybe all publicity is good publicity.
Another McAfee Mis-Step
McAfee’s latest comments, which he shared on his Instagram story Tuesday morning, were just the latest episode showcasing how thin-skinned the former Colts punter truly is. When referencing an Instagram reel of his opening comments on this past weekend’s College GameDay from Eugene, Oregon, McAfee was curious to see the comments on the digital reel.
He then created a picture by cherry-picking several comments made by what he termed as “old white people” to go with the track “What’s Up, What’s Haapnin’” by T.I., a song filled with shoutouts to the rapper’s “haters.”
McAfee then shot a video of himself sharing his personal feelings on the picture he created.
“I’d like to let all you old f**ks know, I hate you too. Never got along with that class of people—teachers, principals, you name it. Since I was a kid, always hated me. It’s kind of a part of life now,” said McAfee.
In short, McAfee took criticisms of his gesture to heart and went on to blast demographics of the College GameDay and ESPN audience. Last time I checked, old white people really enjoy watching sports and ESPN. Then to call out teachers and principals when the show you work on literally broadcasts from college campuses around the country—well, that’s quite a choice.
Let’s continue.
“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 continued.
Another Shot At ESPN
McAfee’s resume calling out ESPN management is well-documented. From the time McAfee called out by name former ESPN executive Norby Williamson to the time he blasted ESPN for a Top 100 Athletes of the 21st Century list, calling it “the epitome of everything that everybody hates about ESPN” and “a s**tshow.”
More recently, McAfee called out another member of ESPN over a report that Adam Schefter was banned from the McAfee program. Then, following the WWE partnership with ESPN, McAfee took the shine off that by taking shots at “suits” within the network, saying the agreement will “outlive the dinosaurs currently guarding the desks in Bristol.”
It should be no surprise that McAfee’s latest comments will be handled the same way as the litany of other ones.
Let’s continue.
“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,” said McAfee on his Instagram story.
Now, not only is McAfee shooting his shot at “old white people” and “old ESPN people,” but now he’s lumping in the staff who assist him on the road with the signature college football pregame show on television.
McAfee Can Change
McAfee has earned the attention he’s gotten. His viewership and digital numbers were at all-time highs in the month of September for himself and the network. His value as a media entity continues to rise every hour as his footprint continues to grow. He’s a self-taught millionaire who built an empire with dedication and hard work—and some luck along the way. McAfee is a trailblazer that many creators look toward as they attempt to replicate his success.
The one item that he hasn’t learned to do is the hardest thing to learn in sports media: having thick skin. No matter how successful he becomes, there will be doubters. There will be critics, and there will be “haters” of his success. The ones who move past the hate are the ones who shine brightest.
The adage I used playing sports was, instead of talking s**t back, just point to the scoreboard.
McAfee should let his scoreboard speak for itself instead of continuing to take shots at his partner, the employees of his partner, and the viewership of his partner.
After all, with great power comes great responsibility.
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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.
Sounds a bit like the current resident of the White House. It’s basically if you don’t love him, he hates you.