Ex-ESPN host Michelle Beadle slams ‘soft’ Pat McAfee as she opens up on ‘rape and death threats’ female reporters receive
Michelle Beadle has criticized Pat McAfee over his recent reaction to his visit to the University of Utah, claiming that the ESPN star would not survive the industry as a female sports broadcaster.
McAfee recently criticized the University of Utah, claiming College GameDay’s visit to the college at the weekend left him feeling ‘very uncomfortable.’
The analyst went as far as to invoke the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which occurred 45 miles away at Utah Valley University last year, as he called out students for ‘talking trash’ and calling him ‘corny.’
Beadle, who spent around eight years at ESPN over two stints, called out the former NFL punter as she addressed his safety fears during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show on Thursday.
‘We are constantly told as women that we’re hysterical, we’re too emotional, we can’t handle things. I can’t tell you how many death and rape threats I’ve gotten via social media since 2009 when we got on Twitter originally. I could never be that soft. Never,’ Beadle said.
‘This has been one of the softest, and we’ve seen quite a few from some of the people at the top of this food pyramid of sports media, one of the softest reactions to something that was so ridiculously unserious.
Former ESPN star Michelle Beadle has hit out at Pat McAfee for being ‘soft’ recently
McAfee was left ‘uncomfortable’ after his visit to the University of Utah for College GameDay
‘I’d like to think people are watching themselves and maybe learning a couple of things. Let it humble you the proper way, but I don’t think that’s what we’re going to see. So, quite frankly, from afar, I’m enjoying every single second of it.’
McAfee revealed on Monday he did not enjoy his visit to the University of Utah for the most recent episode of College Gameday on Saturday and blamed the school by invoking Kirk‘s murder.
‘I’ve never been more uncomfortable, honestly, in my life, walking in front of a group of people after watching their university put out a post, basically dogging me just moments before,’ McAfee said on Monday’s episode of his eponymous show.
The problem, according to McAfee, involved a since-deleted video reportedly posted on the Utah Student Experience Instagram page.
The video, which has since surfaced on other social media platforms, includes Utah students criticizing McAfee before his scheduled live remote broadcast from Salt Lake City, where the sixth-ranked Utes beat visiting Houston, 21-13, on Saturday night.
‘One kid goes, “Ah, he’s corny,”‘ McAfee said of the Instagram video. ‘Another kid calls me “creepy.”‘
McAfee claimed he wasn’t upset about the criticism, but rather the fact that it was being posted on a school social media account.
‘The University puts that out, like as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place, and then I’m walking in front of thousands of these people,’ he said. ‘This is how the University feels about it. It’s an uncomfortable feeling.’
McAfee took issue with a video posted on one of the school’s social media accounts (pictured)
McAfee alluded to Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University last year after his own negative experience at the University of Utah
McAfee went on to reference Kirk’s 2025 murder at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 45 miles south of Utah’s Salt Lake City campus.
Although he stopped short of mentioning Kirk by name, McAfee did urge schools in Utah to refrain from sharing divisive material.
‘I thought to myself, has anything like really scary happened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?’ McAfee asked. ‘Like, do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a University?’
A school spokesperson has since issued a public apology to McAfee and the ESPN crew.
‘The University of Utah is grateful to have had the chance to welcome Pat McAfee and the entire ESPN College GameDay crew to campus,’ read the school statement.
‘ESPN College Game Day has visited our campus seven times and we have always enjoyed a terrific relationship and positive experiences with the entire crew.
‘Our goal during the visit was to create lighthearted engagement regarding Pat being back on campus, but we missed the mark. University staff are responsible for reviewing and posting content on official social media accounts and we take full accountability for that decision.
The ESPN host was urged to wear a bulletproof vest by the FBI after Charlie Kirk’s murder
‘University officials have reached out to Pat to express appreciation and regret. We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pat and the entire GameDay crew are always welcome at the University of Utah and we deeply appreciate the opportunity ESPN provides to showcase our university and community.’
It emerged following McAfee’s comments that he had been urged to wear a bullet-proof vest in the wake of Kirk’s murder.
Front Office Sports reported that McAfee was advised by the FBI to wear a bulletproof vest the week after Kirk was assassinated.
McAfee, who frequently receives threatening messages about himself and his family on social media and often exposes trolls on his accounts, is often in front of huge crowds on college campuses across America on College GameDay.
