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ESPN is responding to claims made by Pat McAfee that an executive from within the sports network is “trying to sabotage” his show.
“No one is more committed to and invested in ESPN’s success than Norby Williamson,” read a statement from an ESPN spokesperson. “At the same time, we are thrilled with the multi-platform success that we have seen from The Pat McAfee Show across ESPN. We will handle this matter internally and have no further comment.”
McAfee took to his show on Friday, which airs on ESPN, to call out Williamson, saying, “We’re very thankful for the ESPN folks for being very hospitable. Now, there are some people actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN — more specifically, I believe Norby Williamson is the guy who is attempting to sabotage our program.”
Although McAfee followed up the accusation by saying he was “not 100 percent sure,” he added that Williamson was “seemingly the only human that has information, and then that information gets leaked, and it’s wrong, and it sets a narrative of what our show is.”
McAfee was seemingly reacting to a story on the New York Post that claimed the ratings for his show regularly see a steep drop off from his lead-in. ESPN recently released the ratings from The Pat McAfee Show that showcased the viewership growth in December, 21% more than in September.
The ESPN analyst also noted that back in 2018, he had a meeting with Williamson, who didn’t end up showing up, telling his audience that the executive “has zero respect for me.”
“We’re trying to do it as right as possible. We have good intentions every single time we come in here. We don’t always get it right, but motherf–kers have been getting it wrong for a long time in this specific field,” he added.
The controversial take comes the same week as The Pat McAfee Show made headlines after having Aaron Rodgers as a guest. Rodgers linked Jimmy Kimmel to Jeffrey Epstein, which prompted the ABC late-night host to threaten legal action if the NFL star continued making those claims.
The following day, McAfee apologized for Rodgers’ comments and excused the New York Jets’ quarterback, saying it was only a joke.
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