Pat McAfee rarely misses criticism directed at him, especially when it makes headlines. And when he responds, it often fuels even more attention, creating a familiar cycle. That pattern resurfaced recently after The Athletic’s senior writer Jerry Brewer published a column examining McAfee’s influence on College GameDay.
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McAfee may have read the column ahead of ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast at the University of Utah, where the No. 10 Utah Utes faced the No. 14 Houston Cougars. During the show’s opening segment, fans began chanting for him to take off his shirt. Although he initially resisted, the former NFL punter eventually gave in and took it off. The move quickly drew criticism, and as the backlash gained traction, McAfee took another shot at his critics.
“I’m ruining the whole sport because of this,” said McAfee about removing his shirt, per Sporting News.
The whole controversy stemmed from Brewer’s column in which he questioned whether McAfee’s increasingly prominent, disruptive presence was changing the identity of College GameDay.
“The question isn’t whether McAfee is good or bad for the three-hour pregame extravaganza,” Brewer wrote. “It’s whether a tradition built on being somewhere can hold a bombastic presence who seems to exist everywhere now. And with so much to balance, whose show is it?”
Subsequently, Pat McAfee responded by defending college football’s atmosphere and arguing that the sport should embrace its loud, unpredictable, and entertaining culture rather than worry about television executives or critics objecting to a shirtless host. But things escalated during Saturday’s broadcast once the fans urged him to remove his shirt.
“Thousands of people yelling at you to take your clothes off, I don’t know what you’re supposed to do,” said McAfee. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m gonna keep these on, I’m not gonna listen, I’m gonna say, let’s have a fantastic fully shirt.”
However, McAfee then changed course. After pretending he would remain fully clothed, he removed his shirt, climbed onto the desk, and celebrated with the crowd. Former Alabama coach and fellow GameDay analyst Nick Saban helped him with the stunt, and McAfee hugged Saban while shirtless. But in the process, he also took a dig at the New York Times, considering Brewer’s column caught his attention.
“Well, I guess the energy of college football is not supposed to be one that the suits get upset if a man ends up shirtless at 7 a.m. in Utah,” he said. “It’s supposed to be wild, it’s supposed to be chaotic, it’s supposed to be the best atmosphere in all of sports, no matter what country you’re in. College football’s the best, the fans are the greatest… New York Times always saying it. ‘This a**hole is shirtless at 9:02 a.m. Eastern!’ Sorry, Coach [Nick Saban]. I’m ruining the whole sport; I’m ruining the whole sport because of this.”
That said, for McAfee, the shirtless stunt was more than a reaction to the fans. It gave him another opportunity to push back against the criticism surrounding his role on College GameDay, turning Brewer’s concerns about the show’s identity into a live on-air moment.