‘Not Going To Call Him Soft’ — Dan Le Batard ‘Super Surprised’ by Pat McAfee’s Outrage Over Not Being ‘Universally Liked’

Pat McAfee has built a sports-media empire by being loud, irreverent, and impossible to ignore. But after a University of Utah video mocked his on-air persona, the ESPN personality found himself on the receiving end of the criticism he routinely dishes out.

Former ESPN host Dan Le Batard is struggling to understand why McAfee appears to be taking it so personally, especially while McAfee is operating from one of the biggest platforms of his career.

Dan Le Batard Questions Pat McAfee's Expectations

Discussing McAfee's comments about Utah, Le Batard wondered whether the "College GameDay" personality had expected his larger-than-life personality to win over virtually everyone.

"I really do think that Pat McAfee thought he was going to do some of these things and just be universally liked," Le Batard said .

He approached the controversy through McAfee's familiarity with professional wrestling, where provoking a reaction is part of the spectacle. In Le Batard's view, McAfee has built a successful career by embracing that polarizing persona, but now appears uncomfortable when the reaction turned negative.

"I don't know if Pat McAfee is enjoying as much of this experience as I feel like most of us think that he should be given that he's on top of the world," Le Batard said.

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He also acknowledged how easily criticism can overshadow praise. His description of nine positive comments getting drowned out by one negative response framed McAfee's reaction as something recognizably human.

Still, the intensity of that reaction caught him off guard.

"I've just been super surprised. I'm not going to call him soft. A lot of people are doing that now. I'm not going to do that," Le Batard said.

Le Batard argued that having both passionate supporters and critics can be a valuable part of being a prominent media personality. He questioned why McAfee seemed so uncomfortable with occupying that space.

"The best thing you can be is have people on both sides feel passionately some kind of way so that everybody's in the tent," he said.

Utah Controversy Prompts a Broader Debate About McAfee

McAfee's complaints followed a video posted by Utah's official Instagram account featuring students mocking him before Saturday's "GameDay" broadcast.

Explaining his frustration Monday, McAfee emphasized that the university itself had distributed the video before he appeared in front of its crowd. He said criticism on students' own accounts would have felt different.

"I was just very, very uncomfortable," McAfee said.

Utah subsequently apologized, accepted responsibility for publishing the post, and said McAfee and the show remained welcome. ESPN also supported its host's safety concerns and emphasized its responsibility to protect the people working on the broadcast.

Le Batard's suggestion was that McAfee could find some freedom in accepting that a loud, opinionated entertainer will draw loud, opinionated responses.