Pat McAfee isn’t made for this

There was a moment during Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show where, in the middle of a monologue about transgender athletes, Pat McAfee noted that “I haven’t looked into it enough” and “I haven’t done enough research” while a message scrolled along the bottom of the screen explaining that this show is a “collection of stooges” having conversations “meant to be comedic informative.”

This fleeting moment summed up all of the quintessential problems at the heart of The Pat McAfee Show and its status as ESPN’s new cornerstone program.

The over-five-minute discussion that McAfee was having involved Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who, by all accounts, was born a woman and remains a woman to this day. McAfee discussed Khelif and the situation surrounding her Olympic boxing match against Italy’s Angela Carini as if she were a transgender woman , presumably based on a disqualification from the International Boxing Association (IBA) over what it claims was a test that revealed elevated levels of testosterone ( a test no one outside of the IBA has ever seen and that they refuse to share with anyone ).

McAfee noted three different times during his discussion that he hasn’t done enough research on the topic, and also added that he hasn’t “looked into it enough” and hoped that “people that are smarter than us who will tell us why and how this all works out.” Additionally, the X post that includes the video reads, “We’re all very confused by what’s going on in Women’s Boxing…We hope that the people who are much smarter than us can figure this out.”

While there’s a debate currently raging in certain corners of the internet and media landscape, it’s important to note that there is no proof that Khelif is a transgender woman (not to mention she hails from a country where changing one’s gender is illegal and the odds Algeria would want to be represented by a transgender athlete in the Olympics are less than zero).

For McAfee, this kind of segment represents all of the pitfalls that he and ESPN continue to deal with while perpetuating the same cycle.

As the highest-paid and (arguably) highest-profile ESPN talent , all eyes are on McAfee and what he does with his platform. Most of the time, he does exactly what ESPN reportedly shelled out $85 million for . Genial interviews with A-list athletes, coaches, and celebrities . Bro-y conversations about the sports news of the day. Playful banter between the show’s cast of characters. Barstool-lite, so to speak.

Every so often, however, McAfee wanders into a space that causes either an avoidable headache or a major problem. He gave Aaron Rodgers a platform to espouse anti-vax conspiracy theories during a pandemic . He’s made light of the Larry Nassar sexual assault situation . He’s tried to play journalist on a story that ended up not being true and has spread rumors as facts .

He’s allowed Rodgers to continue pushing dangerous conspiracy theories , as well as implying Disney employee Jimmy Kimmel was a pedophile . He inserted himself into the Caitlin Clark discourse in the weirdest way possible . Recently, he’s made a game of taking shots at ESPN , directly or indirectly , while being broadcast on ESPN , perhaps in an attempt to remind them they need him more than he needs them .

This happens in his other capacities as well. His feud with Washington State last college football season left a bitter taste for many . He’s taken out his frustrations on other fanbases as well. It’s probably part of the reason a survey revealed that a sizable part of the audience didn’t like him on the show .

McAfee’s reaction to these self-owns and controversial situations often sends him into a victim spiral, where he ends up either lashing out at critics or painting himself as the aggrieved party.

He’s deemed himself “ canceled ” on several occasions, including on MLK Day . Even when he’s apologized , he’s reversed course in a way that sends a clear message. Criticism will often cause him to lash out, referring to people as a “ rat ,” “ losers ,” or “ puppets .” He references the criticism he receives as a negotiating tactic . On some occasions, he’ll simply revel in his victimhood, like his recent comments, saying, “ There’s not a lot of respect for me ” in the media world.

Certainly, McAfee has received his fair share of criticism, including from us, but there’s been plenty of praise and acknowledgment as well. Of course, we all see what we want to see.

All of this brings us back to the many caveats and conditions McAfee added to his segment on Khelif. He clearly wants to be involved in those kinds of conversations, sharing his unvarnished opinion. But he doesn’t want to bear any responsibility for sharing his opinions on a national platform.

It just doesn’t work like that.

Say what you want about Stephen A. Smith, and he deserves plenty of criticism of his own, but Smith understands that in order to be a talent on the magnitude of him and McAfee, you have to have the courage of your convictions . Even when everyone disagrees with Smith, he will either stand his ground or offer a mea culpa in a way that allows him to maintain his status . And he steps right back into the arena and does it again.

Chris Russo, of all people, might actually have the best mindset for the kind of position people like him and McAfee are in. If you’re going to get behind a microphone and share your thoughts and feelings, you can’t be so sensitive when people disagree with you.

“You can’t be that sensitive. He is so sensitive,” Russo said of McAfee in January . “Let it go! You’re making $85 million. You can’t get that wrapped up when somebody writes something that is not so much going to be in your corner. You can’t come out swinging and bury everybody.”

No one expects McAfee to be a journalist or have an ironclad grip on world events. But he has a platform that commands millions of viewers. That platform only got bigger when he partnered with ESPN, not to mention his work with WWE. While he might not want to be held accountable for what he says, simply having that kind of platform makes it impossible.

We all know the Spider-Man saying, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The unsaid part of Ben Parker’s message is that, when you have great power, the great responsibility is yours to deal with whether you want it or not.

As far as we’re aware, McAfee’s political leanings aren’t publicly known. There is, of course, a reading of recent discussions on his show that imply he leans towards the conservative side of the U.S. political spectrum. While he might say he doesn’t believe viewers want to hear him talk politics , he also had no problem letting Dana White turn his show into a Donald Trump infomercial . McAfee’s opinions on the Olympics Opening Ceremony and Imane Khelif also align, in theory, with conservative messaging.

If that’s the case, perhaps McAfee would feel more comfortable with a platform where he could more honestly express those opinions. Doing so would obviously change the calculus for ESPN and some people in his audience, but at least then, he could authentically express himself without the need for constant caveats. Just this year, Joe Rogan announced a new deal with Spotify worth a quarter billion dollars . Rogan consistently wades into controversy with murky information but largely avoids much criticism because Spotify is Spotify and not Disney-owned ESPN. McAfee’s trajectory, both culturally and popularity-wise, makes such a financial and platform outcome for him very plausible.

With a different platform, McAfee could say what he wants, fully and without concern for reactions. He could do it without the spotlight that comes with being on ESPN airwaves. He could do it without the focus of the sports world as he shifts into a safer corner of the media landscape. Some of the A-list interviews would go away, but so would the caveats.

Of course, there are other trade-offs for that kind of move. It’s all a series of trade-offs in one direction or the other. But if McAfee wants the platform that he’s got, there’s no running from the attention, media criticism, and accountability that come with it. He and ESPN will get criticized for his Thursday comments, and then it’s up to him how to respond.

One thing’s for sure: playing the victim just doesn’t cut it at this level, and it’s the kind of thing people get tired of hearing pretty quickly.

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