Credit: Masterclass/Inside the MagicSports analyst Pat McAfee has been making a lot of headlines recently. First, he became embroiled in scandal after pro football player Aaron Rodgers made inflammatory comments about ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that were widely perceived as implying he may be associated with notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and now, McAfee has publically insulted a longtime Disney and ESPN executive, calling him a “rat.”
Pat McAfee recently called ESPN executive editor and head of event and studio production Norby Williamson a “rat” and accused him of sabotaging his YouTube series The Pat McAfee Show (per The New York Times). McAfee said, on air, “There are some people actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN…More specifically, I believe Norby Williamson is the guy attempting to sabotage our program.”
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On another episode of his streaming show, Pat McAfee pointedly listed off a number of ESPN and Disney (which owns the sports network) executives with whom he claimed to have a good relationship, saying, “We love Burke Magnus…Love Burke Magnus. And also love Jimmy Pitaro. Love Bob Iger. But there is quite a transition era here between the old and the new. And the old don’t like what the new be doing.”
McAfee would later go on to post a picture of himself with ESPN president, programming, and original content Burke Magnus, which many took to further imply his ability to insult Williamson without ramifications to his career.
Other than the final score.. Last night was awesome..
GREAT company and vibes in the suite pic.twitter.com/KTtvV5pcR0
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 7, 2024
It has long been common knowledge that the Walt Disney Company and its properties, like ESPN and ABC, strongly discourage any public altercations and insults between on-screen talent, which makes Pat McAfee calling Norby Williamson a “rat” an automatic scandal.
Pat McAfee has apologized to Jimmy Kimmel over the Aaron Rodgers comments. Rodgers himself will not appear on this show for the remainder of the NFL season and has denied that he was implying that Kimmel had an association with Jeffrey Epstein (per CNN), saying, “I’m not stupid enough … to accuse [Kimmel] of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence.”
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Aaron Rodgers continued, accusing the media of trying to cancel him for his statements, saying, “This is the gameplan of the media, this is what they do. They try and cancel … it’s not just me.”
Disney and ESPN have not yet made a public statement regarding Pat McAfee’s comments regarding Norby Williamson. They might be waiting for whatever lawsuit they might have to avoid next.
Inside the Magic reached out to Disney for comment, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.
Do you think Pat McAfee is distracting from one scandal with another? Let’s hear your thoughts below!