Pat McAfee says ESPN didn’t tell him to stop talking about Caitlin Clark. ‘God’ did

Sports analyst Pat McAfee wears a Colts shirt with the sleeves cut off as he watches an NFL game from the sideline

ESPN’s Pat McAfee said Wednesday that “God” and “the universe” told him to stop talking about WNBA star Caitlin Clark. The former NFL punter later said he wasn’t referring to the network.
(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

ESPN personality Pat McAfee says he’s been told not to talk about Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark on his show anymore.

Told by whom?

By “God” and “the universe,” he said Wednesday on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

Definitely not by ESPN, the former NFL punter later clarified on X.

“ESPN has zero say over my show,” the outspoken and sometimes controversial host wrote.

ESPN declined to comment for this story.

In June, McAfee opened an episode with a lengthy, pro-Clark monologue in which he referred to the WNBA star as “a white b—.” He apologized the same day.

“My intentions when saying it were complimentary just like the entire segment but, a lot of folks are saying that it certainly wasn’t at all,” he wrote on X. “That’s 100% on me and for that I apologize… I have sent an apology to Caitlin as well. Everything else I said… still alllllll facts.”

During an on-air discussion with longtime sports broadcaster Rich Eisen on Wednesday, McAfee noted that “the Olympics saved” his show this year and asked Eisen if the same was true for his show.

“Caitlin Clark, too, pal,” Eisen answered. “There’s no question about it.”

McAfee responded, “Well, the universe told me not to talk about her.”

“Uh-oh. Is that right?” Eisen asked.

“The universe,” McAfee said. “Yeah, the universe. Yeah, God came in and was like, ‘You know what, pal? Probably go ahead and stop it.’”

When Eisen asked why “the universe” would tell him such a thing, McAfee made an apparent reference to the incident in June.

“‘Cause I’m an idiot, mostly,” McAfee said. “The reason is ’cause I’m an idiot. And I wanna say, we’re big supporters. … I think what she has done, obviously remarkable.”

He added: “But nonetheless, I am dumb and the way I speak, not good. And multiple times, God has come in and been like, ‘You need to stop.’”

Some people assumed McAfee was implying that his network bosses had laid down the law regarding Clark, who’s in her rookie season. But McAfee said later on X that notion “isn’t true.”

“I said ‘God’ and the ‘universe’ told me to stop talking about it,” he wrote. “that was thru me saying something that inevitably always caused full chaos. It wasn’t great for my life or for the progrum.”