ESPN Exec Blasted By Pat McAfee On Air, Accused Of Leaking Negative Information

Lower than a 12 months after signing a reported $85 million deal unfold over 5 years to affix ESPN, host Pat McAfee shouldn’t be pleased with no less than one community government.,

McAfee accused ESPN government Norby Williamson by title in a Friday phase. Chatting with his cohost, A.J. Hawk, saying he was a part of a gaggle “actively attempting to sabotage us from inside ESPN.

Williamson is ESPN’s government editor and head of occasion and studio manufacturing.

“We’re very appreciative, and we perceive that extra individuals are watching this present than ever earlier than,” McAfee stated on his present. “We’re very grateful for the ESPN people for being very hospitable. Now, there are some individuals actively attempting to sabotage us from inside ESPN — extra particularly, I imagine, Norby Williamson is the man who’s making an attempt to sabotage our program.”

He continued, “Now, I’m not one hundred pc positive. That’s simply seemingly the one human that has info, after which that info will get leaked, and it’s flawed, and it units a story of what our present is.

“After which are we simply gonna fight that from a rat each single time? Any person tried to get forward of our precise scores launch with flawed numbers 12 hours beforehand. That’s a sabotage try. It’s been taking place this complete season from some individuals who didn’t essentially love the previous addition of The Pat McAfee Present to the ESPN household. There’s a number of these.”

ESPN has not but commented on McAfee’s remarks. The corporate issued a laudatory launch touting the present earlier at this time, saying the present has “gained much more recognition for the reason that present launched on ESPN platforms in September. In December, the present garnered 886,000 common viewers per episode through the reside airings throughout all platforms (ESPN, YouTube, TikTok) by means of the present’s progressive reside simulcast choices.

“ESPN’s linear viewers alone has ballooned by 20% for the reason that first 4 weeks (Sept 7 to 29) now averaging 332,000 viewers per episode within the month of December, whereas the YouTube viewers averaged 403,000 concurrently. Mixed, it marks a 35% year-over-year improve from the midday to 2 p.m. time slot in 2022.

McAfee claimed that adverse leaks are a daily a part of ESPN tales.

“We’ve heard them anonymously quoted within the Washington Submit, New York Submit, New York Occasions, LA Occasions, Wall Road Journal. They’re by no means like, ‘Love the present.’ It’s all the time little issues to tear us down. So even with the enemy inside our personal camp, I don’t like that man,” McAfee stated.

“That man left me in his workplace for 45 minutes — no-showed me in 2018. So this man has had zero respect for me, and in return identical factor again to him for a very long time, so even with that happening … we’re nonetheless rising one way or the other. We’re very grateful. I believe we’re doing it proper. We’re attempting to do it as proper as potential. Now we have good intentions each single time we are available right here. We don’t all the time get it proper, however motherf–kers have been getting it flawed for a very long time on this particular discipline.”