‘This Overly Sensitive Position Is Not Going to Help Him’ — Pat McAfee’s Former Colleague Believes Fame Has ‘Certainly Changed’ ESPN Star
· Yahoo Sports
Pat McAfee has found himself in the headlines one way or another this year. While his show has grown in popularity in the last few years, he has also added several prominent roles to his portfolio at ESPN. That said, his growing influence has brought increased scrutiny, with his reactions to criticism becoming a hot topic.
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Following recent backlash over McAfee’s comments about University of Utah students, the ESPN star is now facing another public callout. This one came from one of his former colleagues.
Pat McAfee Called Out by David Shepard Over Sensitive Reaction to Criticism
Joe Scarborough used an Election Day segment of “Morning Joe” to criticize McAfee’s influence on ESPN’s “College GameDay.” He argued that McAfee’s growing presence was overshadowing the other personalities on the program, including Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and Nick Saban.
Scarborough also mocked McAfee’s reaction to the controversy in Utah, questioning why he had become so upset over a couple of signs and comments.
McAfee addressed Scarborough’s criticism during “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, joking about the possibility of being voted off College GameDay. He also admitted that the negative comments on social media had become difficult to ignore.
“I’ve been staying off of X,” McAfee said. “Just been pretty mean there, and everybody’s calling me a snowflake and everything.”
McAfee’s comment drew David Shepard’s attention, who had a blunt take on his former colleague.
“I used to board op Pat’s Show back when he was at CBS Sports Radio,” Shepard tweeted. “I think fame can change a lot of people. It has certainly changed him. I remember Pat being incredibly resilient and thick-skinned.
“Pat is a tremendous talent and has a platform that 99.9% of us in the media would dream of. He deserves all the credit in the world for that, but with that huge platform is inevitably going to come opposition. Hope the right people around him are conveying this OVERLY SENSITIVE position is not going to help him long term.”
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The latest criticism comes after McAfee faced heavy backlash over his reaction to a University of Utah social media video ahead of ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast in Salt Lake City. The university’s Instagram account shared a video of students imitating McAfee, in which some expressed appreciation for the ESPN personality, while others described his on-air antics as “corny” and “creepy.”
McAfee said the video made him feel unwelcome as he prepared to appear before thousands of people.
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The University of Utah later apologized, saying it regretted creating the perception that McAfee was unsafe or unwelcome on campus.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.