ESPN personality Pat McAfee is drawing sharp rebukes after he appeared to equate the hostile reception he received from University of Utah students with the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed on a Utah campus last year.
During a recent episode of his daily ESPN show, McAfee, a central figure on the network's College GameDay panel, said he "did not enjoy" his trip to Salt Lake City for the pregame broadcast. His discomfort stemmed from a university Instagram post featuring students previewing the show's visit, some of whom labeled him "corny" or "creepy."
"The university puts that out as I'm about to go out and do an infomercial for this place, this is how the university feels about this," McAfee said. "It made me feel a little mute ... a little bit weird."
He then went further, referencing the murder of Kirk, which occurred at Utah Valley University in Orem. "I thought to myself, did something else happen pretty scary at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?" he continued. "Like should we be amplifying reasons why people hate my guts? So I don't know, it was a lot of mixed feelings."
The University of Utah later issued an apology for the Instagram post, but the damage was done. Social media erupted with criticism, with many mocking McAfee's comparison. Former cable news host Keith Olbermann called him an "imbecilic child – and soft," writing on X, "Tough guy can't handle...critical videos from kids? So he'd last a solid 8, 9 minutes in the real world."
Another user on X quipped, "Pat McAfee thinking he's important enough to get assassinated is much funnier than anytime he's taken his shirt off."
Others argued that no apology was warranted. Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wolken wrote, "They didn't miss the mark. No apology is needed. Watch the video. This is insanity."
The controversy comes amid broader scrutiny of campus safety and political speech. A recent report on security failures at UVU in the Kirk assassination highlighted vulnerabilities at public events, a point McAfee's critics say he exploited inappropriately. Meanwhile, Utah has since declared Charlie Kirk Day to honor the slain activist, underscoring the state's fraught political climate.
McAfee's remarks also drew attention to the growing intersection of sports and politics, with some pundits noting that his platform on ESPN gives him outsized influence. The network has not commented on the incident, but the backlash shows no signs of abating.
As the controversy continues, it raises questions about how public figures handle criticism in an era of heightened political polarization. McAfee, known for his brash style, may find that his latest comparison has crossed a line even his fans are unwilling to defend.
