Pat McAfee, one of ESPN’s most prominent sports broadcasters, appeared alongside President Donald Trump at the Patriot Games in Geneva, Ohio. Fans have been questioning his long-standing ‘keep politics out of sports’ identity for a year now, and after the high school sports competition, he is in the middle of a social media backlash where even loyal fans of The Pat McAfee Show are questioning his political alignment.
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McAfee greeted the President on the tarmac at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, stood for pictures, then joined him as a guest of honor for the final round of the competition at SPIRE Academy in Geneva. He guided Trump to his seat during the event, and sat with him as the competition wrapped up. This is the third time in twelve months that McAfee has shared a platform with the President, and the third time his apolitical reputation has taken the heat for it. He talked about his experience being a part of the Patriot Games and addressed the backlash he’s been receiving on Wednesday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show.
“There’s a lot of people upset anytime, obviously, you have the president doing anything, especially President Trump, who was very gracious to me and Gumpy,” he said. “I would say all the Disney people would say the same thing with how it was all set up last night. Anytime he’s a part of something, that’s going to be very loud. And there’s people saying some really mean stuff. Diary of a Polarizing Figure’ out Friday… it will address a lot of this, and it kind of is what my life.”
For McAfee, the appearance had nothing to do with politics. It was about encouraging the kids to be active and take up sports.
“I do appreciate how people feel towards their politics and everything else; I do respect it, but there are some absurd things when it’s like, it’s not just me. We’re trying to create something here for the next generation. We’re trying to give back to our community and our world, sports and fitness,” he said.
One critic on X made a baseless accusation against McAfee’s character, claiming without evidence that he had used a racial slur. McAfee called it “grotesque” and threatened legal action.
ESPN handled the broadcast. The competition streamed live on ESPN’s app, and the network has an hour-long primetime special covering the whole thing airing Thursday. Even some Disney executives, ESPN’s parent company, made the trip out for the finale. But McAfee was the one at the centre of all the political criticism, also because of his growing friendship with the President.
It all started on Veterans Day last year. McAfee invited President Trump onto The Pat McAfee Show, and the interview was framed around Veterans Day, the military, and Trump’s relationship with sports. Trump said that he only decided to join because he heard McAfee say “nice things” about him.
Critics had slammed McAfee for blurring the line between sports entertainment and politics. But in his defense, McAfee stated that it was Veterans Day after all and he was interviewing the Commander-in-Chief. He also said that he reached out to Barack Obama and hoped he could appear in the future.
Earlier this year, McAfee met with the President and was granted permission to broadcast The Pat McAfee Show from the White House for the UFC Freedom 250 event, though he ultimately went live from the College World Series instead.
The part of the story Pat McAfee wants the people to see
Pat McAfee was fully on board with what the event represented. The Patriot Games brought together 120 of the country’s most promising high school athletes between 14 and 17, representing each state and territory. Put on by the Trump administration’s Freedom 250 initiative, the event was built around celebrating the kind of character and drive that’s shaped America for 250 years.
Kennadi Fuhrman, a high schooler from Kansas, and Rockwell Myers from Utah won the very first Patriot Games, taking home educational scholarships of $125,000 each.
“I think this is an initiative that is going to continue. I think this is a big deal,” Pat McAfee said. “And anything that is going to amplify or encourage the next generation to remain active and competitive, I think that is a huge thing I will be a part of.”
“Once this thing settles in and this Patriot Games thing goes for ten, 20 years, which I’m hoping happens no matter who’s president, I think this will be something that we look back and say, ‘This was inevitably good’,” McAfee said.
McAfee has championed sports and fitness throughout his career, first as a two-time Pro Bowl punter, now as one of ESPN’s highest-paid personalities. Like him or hate him, the Patriot Games put a national spotlight on 120 teenagers competing for life-changing scholarship money. For McAfee, that’s the only story worth telling.