Three days after Pat McAfee took to social media to complain about \u201cold white people,\u201d including the producers of College GameDay, a new article has published detailing growing frustration and ongoing friction between McAfee and ESPN employees.<\/p>\n
In a report from Front Office Sports\u2019 Michael McCarthy<\/a>, multiple sources expressed frustration with the former All-Pro punter\u2019s \u201cdiva\u201d behavior. The comments come in response to a video that was posted to McAfee\u2019s Instagram stories on Tuesday morning, in which he stated<\/a>, \u201cthroughout the entirety, old whites and the old ESPN people over the last like three years have really hated me. That\u2019s who all the producers are of GameDay too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTotally unnecessary. Grow up and talk to these people to make it better. You are not a victim,\u201d one source told Front Office Sports. \u201cEveryone is bending over backwards to put you in a good position\u2014and these same people are incentivized for you to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Another source told McCarthy that McAfee sometimes acts like an \u201centitled diva.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet despite their gripes, the sources are well aware that ESPN management remains a big fan of the West Virginia product. To that end, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus defended McAfee, but also conceded that his style is capable of creating \u201cfriction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPat is a creative force. He\u2019s pushed hard to advance College GameDay and his impact has been enormous,\u201d Magnus told FOS. \u201cSince he joined ESPN, GameDay\u2014as well as his own daily show\u2014have experienced unprecedented success. Pat is also an innovator, and when you have someone who disrupts the status quo, it\u2019s not surprising when there\u2019s friction and disagreement as a result. We will continue to encourage and support Pat and the entire GameDay cast and crew as together they break new ground on one of ESPN\u2019s most important franchises.\u201d<\/p>\n Magnus\u2019 support is hardly a surprise, as the ESPN executive has long been one of the 38-year-old\u2019s most public (and powerful) supporters. Speaking to The Athletic\u2019s Richard Deitsch last month<\/a>, Magnus said that he couldn\u2019t imagine ESPN\u2019s daily lineup without McAfee being a part of it moving forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n