The Utah controversy is behind Pat McAfee, or so he might have thought. Nearly two weeks after the heated episode, the ESPN personality is still finding himself at the center of the fallout. This time, SiriusXM host Katie Nolan has stepped in with her own shot at him.
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During Wednesday’s episode of her show, Katie Nolan accused McAfee of acting “irresponsibly” before blasting his habit of shutting down critics at every turn.
“The guy is winning in every sense of the word, and yet is constantly acting like the world is attacking him baselessly,” she said on her show. “He acts irresponsibly, but then wants everyone to be responsible for his emotional well-being, and to take care of him.”
Nolan argued that McAfee’s own audience made the entire experience uncomfortable for him. However, her experience was quite different: she recalled facing even harsher backlash from fans during her stint in Apple TV’s MLB booth.
“If I ever invoked an assassination, and I’m a sensitive baby b*tch. I don’t take most things well. I didn’t handle how mean everyone was to me during baseball season,” she said. “If he had my mentions … he wouldn’t be able to talk about anything else.”
The controversy boiled down to more than just fans branding Pat McAfee “corny.” What truly got under his skin was the university’s decision to amplify the criticism through its official social media accounts.
The incident left McAfee questioning his safety while appearing on the program, with the ESPN host even comparing the perceived threats he faced on campus to those surrounding Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated at Utah Valley University last year.
The controversy took another turn when a subsequent report revealed that the FBI had contacted McAfee following Kirk’s death, with a suggestion that he consider wearing a bulletproof vest.
McAfee later clarified that the recommendation came from his security team, although he had also been in contact with law enforcement agencies.
However, after the public backlash against McAfee, the university was forced to pull the video from its social media platforms and issue an apology to the ESPN host and the wider College GameDay team.
“We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus,” the university said in a statement on social media.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Pat and the entire GameDay crew are always welcome at the University of Utah, and we deeply appreciate the opportunity ESPN provides to showcase our university and community,” the statement said.
The apology only fuelled the backlash against McAfee, with critics accusing the ESPN host of being unable to take a joke. Nolan also joined the criticism, pointing to previous controversies, including McAfee’s unverified claims about Ole Miss student Mary Kate Cornett, to argue that he has repeatedly given people reasons to call him out.
Yet, according to Nolan, whenever McAfee finds himself on the receiving end of criticism, he tends to dismiss it as unfair rather than acknowledge why he is being targeted.
However, Nolan did acknowledge that McAfee has earned his place in sports media. Still, she argued that he cannot expect the influence and recognition that come with the spotlight while refusing to accept the criticism and pushback that inevitably follow.
“When Pat adds to a broadcast, he really can. He’s got a lot of energy, and in an industry that’s usually full of old-guard guys, it’s good to have that youthful energy injected,” she explained. “He doesn’t have to be for me. It’s this also needing to be able to do it without anyone saying anything mean, ever, about anything that he does.”
Pat McAfee’s Utah episode might not leave him behind anytime soon, but one thing is certain: the ESPN host has learned a valuable lesson from the entire ordeal.