Pat McAfee, who joined ESPN in a blockbuster deal for 2023, balked at the question of whether his show should be subject to “journalistic standards.”
Appearing on a panel with other on-air talent at a media day hosted by the Disney division at its Bristol, Connecticut, campus on Wednesday, McAfee took exception to a reporter’s use of the phrase. The question appeared to be an attempt to gauge the adjustment process for everyone involved and to clarify whether News Focus staff had any concerns about McAfee’s unconventional contract. Unlike traditional talent deals, the former NFL kicker’s wildly popular YouTube show was licensed to ESPN (for a reported $85 million). It continues to run on YouTube, while portions of it are also simulcast on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
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“Define journalistic standards,” McAfee countered to CNBC reporter Alex Sherman. Spotting and correcting errors is one aspect of that, Sherman ventured. The host cited numerous examples of what he considered unfair coverage of his show, called out a reporter and scanned the room to see if a representative of the website Awful Announcing was present. McAfee criticized the website for “ripping” videos from his show to get more traffic. In addition, he said, the site highlights quotes “completely out of context.” As a result, he argued, it has a negative impact on “future revenue, with libel, slander, character assassination, stolen clips, all that shit. If I ever wanted to deal with lawsuits, which I don’t want to, that could be a possibility. I could make it all a thing.”
The structure of his contract leaves McAfee one level removed from the network’s usual standards and practices, a discrepancy that became apparent when NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers made a torrent of unfiltered comments about Covid vaccines last fall. (The quarterback, who has been quoted as making anti-vaxxer and conspiracy-theoretical remarks, was suspended by the league in 2021 for intentionally misleading reporters who asked about his vaccination status by assuring them he was “vaccinated.” The treatment he was referring to was not a league-mandated vaccine but homeopathic remedies not recognized by health authorities as public safety measures.)
“I understand you have a lot of reasons to potentially hate me,” McAfee said. “I think they’re misguided. I would appreciate if you would give me and my people a chance. I think we’re helping the sports media as a whole going forward. I think we’re going to get some things wrong and we apologize for that. But anytime you’re ripping our crap and trying to kill us, I think ‘journalistic standards’ are certainly problematic. We want to be good for sports in sports media. We want to build sports. And we would appreciate if you would just give us a fair chance.”
Before the temperature in the room rose, McAfee said he expected Rodgers to resume his usual weekly Tuesday slot once the NFL season begins next week. “The odds are good,” McAfee said, and while there is no official agreement yet, the host said he is “optimistic.” Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon just four games into his career as a New York Jet last year, ending his season.
McAfee acknowledged that the segments have been criticized, saying they are lengthy and often provide a forum for Rodgers to muse on conspiracies and fringe issues, even as he avoids traditional media interviews.
“I’ve heard some people say, ‘Why is he letting this guy in? He’s not fighting back,'” McAfee said. Rodgers, he countered, is destined for a place on “the Mount Rushmore of NFL quarterbacks. … He’s one of the best football players of all time.” Everything he says, however questionable, is worth listening to, he added. Footage from the McAfee interviews “will probably be used in every Aaron Rodgers documentary 10 or 15 years from now,” the host said. “I don’t know if that’s journalism in your eyes or not, but I think it certainly provided something useful for sports fans.” Referring to Rodgers’ excellence on the field during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, McAfee called him “the Covid King.”
After Rodgers continued his weekly appearances while recovering from his injury, McAfee recalled, “There were a lot of people asking for that to stop happening. … When ESPN gets criticized for something that’s said on our show, it’s not good for business at all.”
Elle Duncan, a presenter at SportsCenter who also appears on other ESPN shows, defended McAfee’s stance. “I’m not sure it’s fair to tar everyone with the same brush,” she said. “I consider myself more of an entertainer than a journalist.”
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