This is not a new problem for McAfee. Parents were already complaining about his profanity on College GameDay in 2024, arguing that a 9 a.m. sports show should not come with a language warning. Two seasons later, ESPN has a bigger problem: some parents are no longer asking McAfee to tone it down. They are simply turning him off.
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“I can’t even have College Gameday on in the background while I hang out with my kids on Saturday morning anymore. Lost count of the number of curse words Pat has let out in the first 5 minutes of the show. Ridiculous and unnecessary for a show I used to love so much,” wrote Locked On Braves host Jake Mastroianni.
On Saturday, September 19, College GameDay rolled into Oxford, Mississippi, with a flyover from the 185th Aviation Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard. The moment was meant to fire up the crowd, and McAfee certainly did that. The problem was that, once again, he did not seem interested in filtering himself for a Saturday-morning ESPN audience.
“We certainly appreciate the h*** out of the American military. And if you’re not the United States of America and you hear that sound, your a** better run,” McAfee said.
Two weeks earlier, on September 5, College GameDay opened its 40th season in Baton Rouge ahead of No. 11 LSU’s home matchup against Clemson. During the show, McAfee repeatedly encouraged LSU fans to sing “Neck,” a stadium tradition whose crowd chant includes the explicit line, “S**k that Tiger [expletive], [expletive].”
That was hardly McAfee’s only uncensored moment that morning. In a September 5 clip posted by College GameDay, he opened the show alongside Nick Saban by declaring, “It’s hot as h***, the storylines are in abundance, and college football’s about to showcase to the world why it’s the greatest sport on earth.”
For some parents, that was enough. One viewer told College GameDay, “I could watch College Gameday with my kids until he came on,” before saying the family had turned the show off because McAfee “can’t control his tongue.” Another parent said their children love watching GameDay but questioned why an explicit chant needed to be blasting on national television at 10:45 in the morning.
By September 19, that frustration had only grown louder. “Thanks for letting us all know. Wouldn’t have made it through the day. Please don’t ever take them to a live game or PG-13 movie either. It’s even worse!” wrote a fan.
“I know I’m definitely an outlier, but I can’t stand Pat McAfee,” a fan kept it honest.
“I miss just Saturday morning cartoons for the kids, rather wholesome programming in general for the kids,” shared a fan.
“That a**hat clown has singlehandedly made GameDay unwatchable,” wrote a fan.
“The issue isn’t being offended; it’s context. A Saturday morning sports show should be something families can have on without thinking twice. You can bring energy and personality without making profanity part of the product,” a fan shared.
“Jake and everyone else, please tag @CollegeGameDay so that at least the people monitoring their social media hear how many of us have decided not to watch again until he’s gone!” read a comment.
Not just the fans. Former college football player Jake Olson, too, took a stand, expressing his displeasure with McAfee failing to draw the line.
“Obviously love GameDay, but as a kid who loved it too, and now with kids of my own who I hope grow up to love it, the cursing has to stop,” Olson posted. “It’s unbecoming of that show. It adds nothing and subtracts a lot from the fun, wholesome roots the show was founded upon.”
The criticism around McAfee’s on-air image has not been limited to College GameDay, either.
Days earlier, he sparked another round of scrutiny after cameras appeared to show him handling and smoking a lit item during The Pat McAfee Show. Social media quickly speculated about what it was, while McAfee later referenced “sage.” Whatever the substance, the viral moment only added another layer to the debate over how far his unfiltered persona should extend on ESPN.