ESPN commentator Pat McAfee said Monday that he was uncomfortable during Saturday’s “College Gameday” show at the University of Utah due to a school-produced video that showed students mocking him with unflattering limpressions.
The school apologized on Monday evening.
“Our goal during the visit was to create lighthearted engagement regarding Pat being back on campus, but we missed the mark,” Utah’s statement read. “University staff are responsible for reviewing and posting content on official social media accounts and we take full accountability for that decision.”
People were interested in these podcasts
McAfee said Monday that he’ll try to avoid any future visits to Utah’s Salt Lake City campus.
“I’ve never been more uncomfortable, honestly, in my life walking in front of a group of people after watching their university put out a post basically dogging me just moments before,” McAfee, the former NFL punter-turned-commentator, said on his daily show.
The 39-year-old noted that his mind drifted to Charlie Kirk. The conservative commentator was assassinated last year while speaking with students on the campus of Utah Valley University.
“I thought to myself, has anything like really scary happened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently? Like, do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university? I don’t know,” he said. “So it was just, it was a lot of mixed feelings for me going out there.”
But most who viewed Utah’s video had a different takeaway. The social media asked students for “their best Pat McAfee impression” ahead of the “College GameDay” visit for Saturday’s win over Houston.
“I’d say Pat McAfee is going to say a corny line,” one student interviewee said. “He’s going to be like, ‘Houston, we got a problem! Give me the Utah Utes!’”
Another said he’d wager that McAfee, who has often gone topless on screen, would take his shirt off.
“Pat, we love you bro, but keep the shirt on,” another student said with a smile. “Nobody’s trying to see that. We don’t care! These are college kids, bro. Like, keep your shirt on, homie.”
The video also featured clips of fans excitedly yelling, but lacked any harsher criticism or threats toward McAfee.
Social media reaction has largely turned against McAfee, with more aggressive college football fans labeling him “soft” or “a snowflake.”
Fellow podcaster Brandon Walker, best known for his college football commentary, noted that McAfee likely “missed on the reaction to this one.”
“Where I think he missed here is, I don’t think that video was really kids taking shots at him,” Walker said on his self-titled show. “I think he took umbrage at the word corny, but I think the kid meant in an endearing way. … I didn’t see that as those kids really insulting Pat McAfee.”
Regardless, the outspoken analyst and host isn’t planning a return to the Beehive State anytime soon.
“I’ll hopefully never go to that place,” McAfee said. “I think I have COVID or something whenever ‘GameDay’ goes back, if I’m still a part of ’GameDay.’ But I did not enjoy the morning there.”
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.