PAT McAfee’s show may be broadcast on ESPN, but that hasn’t stopped him from publicly hacking the network.
On Tuesday, ESPN published the first half of its ranking of the 100 best athletes of this century, ahead of McAfee’s daily talk show.
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Trying to compile a list of the best athletes, taking all sports into account, is a daunting task at best and one that will never please everyone.
Ranking these finalists is another challenge, and one that McAfee apparently believes was poorly executed.
“Now, there is a top 100 list This is coming from the folks at ESPN, and I’ll tell you what, it’s the epitome of everything everyone hates about ESPN,” McAfee said on his show, which has aired every weekday on the network since September 2023.
“Whatever they chose to do to rank the top 100 athletes of the 21st century, they only gave us 5[1]-100 yesterday – what shit.
“What an absolutely terrible list.”
The list in question was compiled thanks to more than 70,000 votes from network collaborators.
“ESPN editions from around the world contributed to the nominations and voting process, as well as the rankings for the individual sports lists that will follow,” the article explains.
“Voters were told to only consider an athlete’s performance since 2000.”
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The list began with NFL Hall of Famer Charles Woodson at 100 and NBA Hall of Famer Steve Nash closing the first article at 51.
McAfee’s criticism of ESPN’s list generated a lot of response from viewers on X.
“No one hates ESPN as much as its star,” joked one fan.
“Whether you agree or disagree with that opinion, Pat doing this when there is an ESPN watermark in the corner and his show is being broadcast on their network is certainly a choice,” said a second.
While a third simply added: “Lmao Pat is the best.”
This explosion occurs just over two weeks after McAfee called out ESPN for honoring Prince Harry at the annual ESPY Awards.
Pat McAfee’s Playing Days
Pat McAfee had a hugely successful period before switching to a career in media.
The talk show star served as a punter in the NFL for eight seasons from 2009 to 2016.
He was a seventh-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft out of West Virginia and spent his entire career with the Indianapolis Colts.
The former punter was named to the Pro Bowl in 2014 and 2016, and was also a first-team All-Pro in 2014.
McAfee holds the NFL’s single record for highest career net punting yardage average at 41.4 yards, while his longest punt of all time was 74.
On June 27, it was announced that Prince Harry would receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
The award is dedicated to its namesake who abandoned his NFL career to serve in the United States Army following the September 11 attacks.
The goal is to honor “an individual with a strong connection to the sport who served others in a way that echoes Tillman’s legacy,” according to ESPN.
“Why do the ESPYs do this?” McAfee asked in response to the news that the Duke of Sussex would become its latest recipient.
“When you do something like that, you know the immediate reaction from humans, from sports fans and people with common sense and intelligence will be like, ‘Hey, don’t put our damn guy through this.’ That guy.'”
What McAfee didn’t mention was that Prince Harry was chosen because of his work with the Invictus Games.
A military veteran himself, having served in the British Royal Army for 10 years, during which he was deployed twice to Afghanistan, Prince Harry later co-founded the Games.
This is an Olympic-style event for current and former wounded, ill or injured military personnel.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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