Posted in: ABC, Disney+, NFL, Sports, TV | Tagged: Aaron Rodgers, disney, espn, jimmy kimmel, pat mcafee, stephen a. smith

Stephen A. Smith: Big Pat McAfee Fan; Aaron Rodgers Apology Needed

Stephen A. Smith explains why Aaron Rodgers needed to apologize to Jimmy Kimmel - and why he supports Pat McAfee and McAfee's show.

Earlier today, Pat McAfee posted a lengthy statement on social media in what appeared to be an effort to move The Pat McAfee Show out from under the clouds that it's found itself under over the past few weeks. First, there was the fallout from NY Jets QB Aaron Rodgers regarding comments he made alluding that there was a connection between ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Jeffrey Epstein. Following that, McAfee himself got into it on-air with certain ESPN executives who he claimed were attempting to "sabotage" his show – naming executive Norby Williamson specifically in his rant. Now, ESPN's First Take & The Stephen A. Smith Show host & author Stephen A. Smith is offering his thoughts on the matter.

Though he spends the vast majority of the video responding to Jason Whitlock (about 45 minutes of it), the first 15 minutes addressed the McAfee/Rodgers/ESPN matter. When it comes to the issues that McAfee has with ESPN executives, Smith makes it clear that – as an employee – he won't address their internal matters over the air and that it should stay between both parties. But with Rodgers, Smith made it clear that – whether he intended to or not – Rodgers implied a connection between Kimmel and Epstein – and for that, he should've apologized. Though he didn't take any shots at Rodgers and made it a point of saying that he still wants to hear what Rodgers has to say in terms of football, Smith also suggested that Rodgers might want to consider not straying into non-sports topics (also noting his previous comments regarding COVID and conspiracy theories).

But Smith also made it clear that he's not only a "teammate" of McAfee's but also a big fan of what McAfee's done with his show and how he was able to build it up from the grassroots. In terms of recent articles questioning McAfee's ratings in terms of First Take, Smith makes a strong point by asking what shows currently or in the past have come close to matching First Take. Following up on that, Smith differentiates McAfee's show from others because of how he's been able to utilize the internet and social media in ways that others haven't – bringing to ESPN a coveted younger viewership.

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