Pat McAfee’s Bombshell Accusation Against ESPN Inspired by Katt Williams’ Hollywood Rant

Who calls out your boss on national television? Recently, Pat McAfee rocked the sports entertainment world with his claims against ESPN’s top executive. However, this just came a day after another similar incident in the sports world. After Shannon Sharpe moved on from football, he made his mark in the podcast domain. His Club Shay Shay podcast is known for hot takes and an inside view of the NFL.

Earlier this week, Katt Williams appeared as the guest on Sharpe’s podcast. And once in the hot seat, the comedian forgot to keep his tongue in check. He went on a rant against Hollywood A-listers. And he had the choicest of words reserved for them. He called them a “cabal” or a “consortium” among the decision-makers. American football quarterback, Robert Griffin took a jibe at the entire situation on ‘X’ and said that McAfee must have been inspired by Williams. He captioned the post, “Apparently Katt Williams calling out Hollywood inspired Pat McAfee to CALL OUT HIS ESPN BOSS ON ESPN today. What in the world is going on.”

And when Williams and Sharpe both came under fire for his remarks, he did the unexpected. Instead of apologizing, Sharpe clapped back and said it was not his place to correct Williams. “I never professed to be a journalist! I’m an entertainer,” and he’s not wrong. He’s not bound by journalistic standards and ethics. He does not have to “cross-examine” what a guest says on his show.

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So, is it true that McAfee was emboldened by this? And then went on to call out his boss?

Pat McAfee accuses his boss of sabotaging the show

In the Friday segment, McAfee began the show on a happy note. He thanked the folks at ESPN for “being very hospitable“. Little did anyone know that it was the calm before the storm. Speaking to his cohost, A.J. Hawk, McAfee then fired at seemingly no one and said, “Some people actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN.” But he is not one to shy away from naming and shaming. Norby Williamson was the person who was trying to sabotage the show.

Norby is a four-decade veteran of ESPN who is its executive editor and head of event and studio production. McAfee alleged that the executive leaked negative ratings information. He said, “I’m not 100 percent sure, he’s just seemingly the only human that has information, and then somehow that information gets leaked, and it’s wrong, and then it sets a narrative of what our show is.”

Pat McAfee said that he handed over the wrong ratings 12 hours ahead of the actual deadline. McAfee went on to explain that some people were not happy that he was back at ESPN. And he had come back in style! He had bagged a $85 million five-year deal to host the show on ESPN. Guess some people couldn’t digest that. Williamson apparently had “zero respect” for the show host.

McAfee further said that Williamson had previously iced him out in a prior meeting, referring to him as “the enemy within our own camp.” He said that Williamson left him in his office for 45 minutes and no-showed him in 2018. The conflict still has not been resolved with McAfee saying that they’re “trying to do it as right as possible.” 

A few hours ago an ESPN spokesperson read a statement that said, “No one is more committed to and invested in ESPN’s success than Norby Williamson. 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.”

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