PHOENIX,
ARIZONA
–
FEBRUARY
09:
Former
NFL
player
and
host
Pat
McAfee
speaks
on
radio
row
ahead
of
Super
Bowl
LVII
at
the
Phoenix
Convention
Center
on
February
9,
2023
in
Phoenix,
Arizona.
Mike
Lawrie
|
Getty
Images
ESPN’s
Pat
McAfee
problem
is
getting
more
complicated.
On
Friday,
the
host
and
former
NFL
punter
publicly
attacked
longtime
ESPN
executive
Norby
Williamson,
accusing
him
of
“actively
trying
to
sabotage”
him
by
leaking
information
to
reporters.
The
New
York
Post
reported
on
McAfee’s
relatively
low
ratings
Thursday,
noting,
“Since
the
inception
of
McAfee’s
show
on
ESPN
in
the
fall,
Stephen
A.
Smith
and
‘First
Take’
are
handing
McAfee
a
583,000
viewer
lead-in,
and
McAfee
is
maintaining
just
302,000,
which
is
a
48%
drop.”
McAfee
implied
Williamson
may
have
leaked
the
idea
for
the
story
to
New
York
Post
reporter
Andrew
Marchand.
Marchand
declined
to
comment.
“I
believe
Norby
Williamson
is
the
guy
who
is
attempting
to
sabotage
our
program,”
McAfee
said.
“I’m
not
100%
sure.
That
is
just
seemingly
the
only
human
that
has
information
and
then
somehow
that
information
gets
leaked,
and
it’s
wrong.”
McAfee
didn’t
specifically
say
what
information
was
wrong.
Over
the
years,
other
ESPN
talent
have
speculated
that
Williamson
has
leaked
private
details,
including
contract
information,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.
On
Friday,
former
ESPN
journalist
Jemele
Hill
posted
on
social
media
platform
X
“I
can
relate”
with
regard
to
McAfee’s
comments
about
Williamson.
There’s
no
evidence
Williamson
has
leaked
information.
Williamson,
who
has
worked
for
ESPN
for
nearly
40
years,
declined
to
comment
through
an
ESPN
spokesperson.
There’s
also
a
contingent
of
ESPN
employees
who
have
grumbled
about
McAfee’s
show
and
his
large
contract.
McAfee
signed
a
five-year,
$85
million
contract
with
ESPN
in
May.
ESPN
management
values
the
importance
of
McAfee
and
Williamson
and
is
looking
into
why
McAfee
denigrated
an
executive,
according
to
a
person
familiar
with
the
matter.
There
is
no
planned
suspension
for
McAfee,
and
ESPN
hopes
to
find
a
path
forward
for
both
Williamson
and
McAfee,
according
to
a
person
familiar
with
the
matter.
“No
one
is
more
committed
to
and
invested
in
ESPN’s
success
than
Norby
Williamson,”
an
ESPN
spokesperson
said.
“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.”
Earlier
this
week,
McAfee
found
himself
in
hot
water
for
providing
a
platform
for
New
York
Jets
quarterback
Aaron
Rodgers
to
disparage
a
fellow
Disney
employee.
Rodgers,
a
frequent
guest
on
McAfee’s
show,
incorrectly
suggested
ABC
late-night
talk
show
host
Jimmy
Kimmel
would
be
included
in
court
documents
related
to
late
sex
criminal
Jeffrey
Epstein.
Kimmel
fired
back
Tuesday,
tweeting
Rodgers’
“reckless
words
put
[his]
family
in
danger.”
McAfee
later
apologized
over
the
Kimmel
comments.
“I
could
see
exactly
why
Jimmy
Kimmel
felt
the
way
he
felt,
especially
with
his
position,”
McAfee
said
Wednesday,
noting
that
Rodgers
“did
go
too
far.”
ESPN
on
Friday
also
addressed
Rodgers’
comments
about
Kimmel.
“Aaron
made
a
dumb
and
factually
inaccurate
joke
about
Jimmy
Kimmel.
It
should
never
have
happened.
We
all
realized
that
in
the
moment,”
ESPN
executive
Mike
Foss
told
Front
Office
Sports.
The
New
York
Post
previously
reported
that
McAfee
has
paid
Rodgers
“millions”
to
appear
on
his
show.
The
former
MVP
and
Super
Bowl
champion,
who
has
made
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in
the
NFL,
joined
the
Jets
last
year
after
playing
for
over
a
decade
with
the
Green
Bay
Packers.
He
missed
the
season
with
an
Achilles
tendon
injury.
A
representative
for
Rodgers
didn’t
immediately
respond
to
a
request
for
comment.
