Pat McAfee caught flack earlier this week when he referred to Caitlin Clark as a “White b—-.”
The punter-turned-media mogul was defending Clark’s influence on ladies’s basketball when he made what he says was a “large f— up.”
McAfee mentioned it was solely hours after Monday’s present that he noticed the criticism he obtained for his monologue, which prompted many on social media to accuse him of being “racist” or “sexist.”
That features feminist group UltraViolet, which known as for McAfee to be fired from ESPN.
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Pat McAfee talks on the Mandalay Bay Conference Heart forward of Tremendous Bowl LVIII on Feb. 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Candice Ward/Getty Pictures)
“Pat McAfee’s apology for his racist and sexist feedback about Caitlin Clark and different WNBA gamers is inadequate. The easy actuality is that even when McAfee meant what he mentioned as a praise – he ought to know that referring to any skilled athlete with a misogynistic or racial epithet isn’t a praise and shouldn’t be carried out,” the group mentioned in an announcement.
“Nevertheless it’s about extra than simply the particular phrases he selected to explain Caitlin Clark. His whole section, which he has mentioned he stands behind and doesn’t apologize for, was used to downplay the contributions of different WNBA rookies together with Angel Reese, and perpetuate a harmful narrative rooted in misogynoir that the WNBA, a league dominated by Black ladies for years is being ‘saved’ by Clark, when each earnings and viewership have been on the rise previous to the beginning of this season.”
The group additionally mentioned McAfee’s permitting “conspiracy theories” to be “unfold” by Aaron Rodgers on his present “show[s] that McAfee merely doesn’t have the mandatory judgment that sports activities followers deserve.”
Pat McAfee opened his Monday present with a section about Caitlin Clark, and the way the WNBA has a “money cow” due to her superstardom. (Getty Pictures)
CAITLIN CLARK IS BEING ‘PHYSICALLY AND VERBALLY ATTACKED’ INSTEAD OF WELCOMED INTO WNBA, EX-TEAM OWNER SAYS
“Not solely does McAfee need to be fired, however Disney wants to make sure that ESPN commits to a tradition the place commentators will not be allowed to spew sexist and racist remarks,” the group continued. “That needs to be the minimal customary that sports activities followers ought to count on from their commentators and that ESPN and Disney ought to count on from their hosts. It’s laborious to ask for something much less once we recall that ESPN is identical community that suspended Jemele Hill for calling President Trump a white supremacist.”
Pat McAfee introduced his present to ESPN final yr. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Pictures)
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McAfee mentioned he despatched a private apology to Clark by means of the Indiana Fever’s public relations group and heard again that “it was all good.”
“I meant it as a praise. These had been my intentions. Lots of people didn’t take it that method. Caitlin Clark didn’t really feel disrespected, however lots of people mentioned I used to be disrespecting her – that’s the exact opposite of what I used to be making an attempt to do.”
Clark is averaging 15.4 factors, 6.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds on 35.7% from the ground (29.7% from deep) in 11 video games this season.
Fox Information’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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