The nationwide criticism of ESPN star Pat McAfee has reportedly crossed the line this college football season.
McAfee has dealt with plenty of backlash since becoming the face of ESPN’s “College GameDay.” That being said, it seems like fans are truly fed up with him this year. During this past weekend’s show in Utah, fans mocked his on-air personality.
“You know why I didn’t like it mostly? Right before I go out there, okay, right before I go out there, I see the University of Utah’s Instagram page, okay?” McAfee said, via Awful Announcing. “They put out a video, can you do an impression of Pat McAfee? And one kid goes, ‘Ah, he’s corny.’ Another kid calls me creepy. Okay, if these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good. I mean, everybody’s taking shots at me anyways for everything. I get it. If the two ladies that were hosting that put that out on their own blog, I’d be okay with it. Hey, you, you’re allowed to do what you — the university puts that out? Like, as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place, and then I’m walking in front of thousands of these people, this is how the university feels about it?”
McAfee then hinted that he’s concerned for his safety, bringing up last year’s assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
“Has anything like really scary happened at like a college gathering in the state of Utah recently? Do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university? I don’t know.”
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
While some people may find McAfee’s complaints to be unwarranted, Front Office Sports reported Tuesday that he receives hate messages, which includes death threats, on a regular basis.
McAfee was reportedly advised to wear a bulletproof vest during the 2025 season.
“The safety and security of our on-air team, crew and fans is paramount at College GameDay,” an ESPN spokeswoman said. “We are committed to ensuring a safe environment, and given the very real threats that members of our team face, we take issues involving their safety seriously. We support Pat and recognize the very real and valid concerns he has around safety and security.”
What’s next for Pat McAfee?
As of this moment, “College GameDay” will be at the University of Indiana for this Saturday’s show.
McAfee is expected to be part of the “College GameDay” panel this weekend. Could that change given his current situation? It’s possible.
With that being said, we truly hope this despicable behavior towards McAfee comes to an end as soon as possible.
