USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Pat McAfee shakes hands with Donald Trump at the Patriot Games.
Pat McAfee appeared at the 2026 Patriot Games in Geneva, Ohio this week. He walked out alongside President Donald Trump during the opening ceremony.
That appearance has landed scrutiny due to Trump’s polarizing persona. “Grotesque” character claims have been made against the former NFL punter and current ESPN employee.
He’s responded with a threat of legal action.
Pat McAfee attended the Patriot Games.
ELECTRIC! 🔥🇺🇸 https://t.co/mwjgjAw6b5 pic.twitter.com/k8R4vW5gYj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 12, 2026
He entered the opening ceremony alongside the President and was also seen sitting next to Donald Trump later during the event.
President Donald Trump sitting with @PatMcAfeeShow at the 2026 Patriot Games final in Ohio: pic.twitter.com/45u4cItgw0
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 11, 2026
McAfee’s presence garnered a negative response from a select bunch of sports fans. His friendly relationship with the President, however, has been previously put on display.
McAfee had Trump on his show via phone call last November in an attempt to send a Veterans Day message to his followers. He replied to critics in the hours that followed.
“In my eyes, he’s the leader of the military, and we were celebrating Veterans Day. There are people that are certainly not the most happy that that happened. But what I would like to say, every veteran and military person that I talked to was very grateful and thankful that we spotlighted the heroes of America who walk amongst us, who are willing to sign a line and go for the United States of America as opposed to anything else.
“So, if you’re against what happened yesterday, I would like to say, you hate the troops. And you should go ahead and swallow that and you can take that to where you want to go.”
-Pat McAfee
The ESPN personality was also on hand for the UCF White House event held in Washington, DC earlier this year.
Critics blast the Patriot Games appearance.
There was backlash for Pat McAfee’s attendance at the Patriot Games alongside Donald Trump, just as there has been for previous interactions with the President.
One particular critic attacked McAfee’s character. The sports show host responded with a legal threat.
This is grotesque… and potentially lawsuit worthy.. we’ll have the lawyers look into that next week after
🗣🗣 The Diary Of A Polarizing Figure drops FRIDAY https://t.co/RKwhz6R0Cu
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 12, 2026
The Patriot Games are a “national competition celebrating the next generation” of athletes. It streamed on the ESPN app while being held August 9-11. A one-hour primetime special is set to air on August 13th on ESPN/ABC at 9 PM ET.
The event was introduced to highlight the “character, determination, and excellence that define the American spirit.”
The competition awarded a $250,000 scholarship prize pool to one male and one female champion. Included in the event were strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance challenges to include a Presidential Fitness Test and military-inspired boot camp circuit, an obstacle course, and team competitions such as Kickball, Dodgeball, Tug of War, and Victory Hoops.
Pat McAfee chose to attend the Patriot Games, which were being broadcast by his business partner. Some fans took offense to that. The ESPN host will not stand for character assassination. We’ll see if he follows through with his legal threat.