Getty Image
Pat McAfee runs a disclaimer before his show on ESPN for good reason.
During the opening of his show, a disclaimer is shown that says there’s going to be sports talk between a ‘collection of stooges,” and some weird stuff may be said that may offend some.
“WARNING,” the message reads. “The following progrum is a collection of stooges talking about happenings in the sports world. It is meant to be comedic informative. The opinions expressed on this show do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of their peers, their boss, or ESPN. There may be some “cuss” words because that’s how humans in the real world talk. If you are a young, please seek permission before watching any further. Cheers, The Pat McAfee Show. p.s. Don’t sue us.”
On Friday, McAfee seemed to offend people while broadcasting his show live from South Bend before the Notre Dame vs Ohio State.
During the ESPN broadcast of the show, McAfee made his into the crowd filled with Notre Dame fans; off camera someone on McAfee’s crew could be heard saying, “Be careful. You never know where Catholic hands go.”
"Be careful. You never know where Catholic hands go."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… You can't say that here."
As heard on 'The Pat McAfee Show' on ESPN from Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/2WnBZirSXJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 22, 2023
Catholics took offense to McAfee’s comment.
“The War against Catholics is alive and well. Imagine ESPN saying this about another religion? It’s absurd how mainstream it is to hate Catholics and frankly a scary time to be a Catholic in America.” said one fan
“I am not a complainer, I don’t care what people think, but imagine if this was said about black people, or Jews, etc. The outrage would be deafening.” commented another fan
ESPN knew what they were getting with the McAfee show, so I doubt they’ll be fazed by a bit of controversy here and there.